Spinoza

Lens-grinding philosopher

Spinoza refers to Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin whose rationalist philosophy argued that God and Nature are one substance.

His ideas on ethics, metaphysics, and biblical criticism were radical for his time, earning him excommunication from the Jewish community.

Spinoza appears in discussions of pantheism, determinism, and Enlightenment thought: a Spinozan view of the universe.

The adjective Spinozist describes adherents or ideas derived from his work.

philosophy

substance

Physical material with mass

monismSingle-substance metaphysics
determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
pantheismReality itself is holy

rationalism · attributes · modes · parallelism · immanence · natura naturans · infinite · extension · thought · eternity

historical

17th century

Years 1601-1700

DutchOf the Netherlands
AmsterdamCapital of Netherlands
excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments

Jewish · Sephardic · Portuguese · heresy · banned books · correspondence · The Hague · posthumous · tuberculosis

emotions

affects

Produces change in

joyIntense positive emotion
sadnessState of emotional pain
desireIntense wanting

bondage · passions · love · hate · hope · fear · fortitude · generosity · self-preservation · power

influences

Descartes

Cogito ergo sum's author

HobbesEnglish political philosopher
StoicismVirtue-centered ancient philosophy
LeibnizBaroque-era polymath philosopher-mathematician

Euclid · scholasticism · Kabbalah

legacy

Enlightenment

Era prioritizing reason over dogma

secular JudaismJewish identity without religious belief
EinsteinByword for genius
GoetheGerman poet-dramatist, 1749-1832

Hegel · biblical criticism

Spinoza

substance

17th century

affects

Descartes

Enlightenment

Spinoza

Opposites

Categories