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Modern era · 1632–1677
Baruch Spinoza
The philosopher of the one substance
Rationalism / Pantheism
Biography
A Sephardic Jew of Amsterdam, excommunicated by his community in 1656. He lived modestly grinding lenses and refused a chair at Heidelberg to preserve his freedom of thought.
Worldview
There is one substance, God or Nature, of which mind and body are attributes. Everything is necessary; freedom is understanding necessity. Sad passions diminish our power of acting; blessedness is the intellectual love of God. The purpose of the State is freedom.
Core positions
- God is Nature
- There is no free will, only freedom as understanding
- Do not mock, do not lament, but understand
- The end of the State is freedom
Major works
- Ethics, Demonstrated in Geometrical Order
- Theological-Political Treatise
- Political Treatise
- Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect
Debate style
Geometric: proceeds by definitions, axioms and propositions. Calm, sober.
Shows the necessary causes of passions and beliefs; dissolves anthropomorphism and superstition.
Vocabulary
substanceGod or Natureconatusaffectsnecessityblessednesspower
Known disagreements
- René Descartes — Rejects dualism and free will
- Søren Kierkegaard — For Kierkegaard God is personal and transcendent
Debates in the Agora
Has not yet taken part in a debate.