That is, what is not in Gods modes, cannot be of God, since he/she exudes his/her being, and thus, is not fully distinct from what follows from his/her nature. Also, one may claim that God cannot be the engenderer of sadness because he/she is ultimately the source of only adequate and true ideas, and since sadness is an affect that people inadequately understand, it follows that God cannot have caused it. I believe that a triangle, if it could speak, would say that God is eminently triangular, and a circle that the divine nature is eminently circular; and thus would every one ascribe his own attributes to God. Things could not have been brought into being by God in any manner or in any order different from that which has in fact obtained. 5. At the age of 23 he was formally excommunicated, and cursed, by Jewish authorities in Amsterdam, where he had been raised in a Portuguese-Jewish family, probably for heretical ideas overheard in his conversations. 25 Spinoza makes this claim because God as an eternal and infinite 100, VI. 83 That is, the mind and body are coherent, since they ultimately derive from one unified substance, and since that one unified substance immanently causes all things, or is innately in them, it follows that the mind would reduce to the body and the body to the mind if they existed through the right attributes. Nietzsche wrote that he had deified the All and Life in order to find peace and happiness in the face of it. Nietzsche tried something like this, too, with his amor fati, love of fate, but with conspicuously less serene results. The Great Philosophers: Spinoza. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. in Liberal Studies from the College of Staten Island/CUNY and his B.A. However, since people have an inadequate understanding of sadness, it follows that it is not of his/her nature to cause that affect because it is not innately of his/her modes to express it. Early in The Ethics Spinoza argues that there is only one substance, which is absolutely infinite, self-caused, and eternal. What kind of egomaniac God do you think I am? One philosopher, Spinoza, claimed that everything ultimately follows from God and that sadness is a persons passage from a greater degree of perfection to a lesser one. Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. Heres some 56 In other words, the mind, which depends on God, and his/her infinite attribute of thought, cannot determine its nature, because it does not cause itself, and thus, it must follow the flow of Gods immutable essence since it ultimately derived from his/her fixed essence. Though the mind and body come to be by way of different attributes of God, and are thus, incompatible, they nevertheless form a union. Spinoza first made his views generally known in the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, published anonymously in Latin in 1670 but quickly attributed to him. Feeling grateful? Part 4/8, https://goldenageofgaia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dr.-David-Martin-MURDER-CHARGES-Against-Fauci-Peter-Daszak-Ralph-Baric-and-many-others.mp4, https://goldenageofgaia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/LEAKED-22Project-Pandora22-Multiple-Presidents-KILLED-to-Keep-this-HIDDEN.mp4, https://goldenageofgaia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Cities-across-Canada-join-the-movement-1.mp4, https://goldenageofgaia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/telegram-cloud-document-1-4915997293301204030-1-1.mp4. Finally, Spinoza continues to address the nature of that which can act upon and influence people, which he calls affects. That is, if God were not equivalent to Nature, there would necessarily be two Gods, one to facilitate the laws of thought, and the other the laws of extension, which cannot be, since the natural order presents itself as a unified whole.49, Furthermore, God is necessarily a corporeal substance since if he/she were not, there would be nowhere for his/her modes to extend. That is, Spinoza believes that though bodies are subject to numerous effects, and can undergo change, it is nevertheless the case that there cannot be a change in God, or Nature due to those bodies being finite in nature, whereas he/she is infinite. Friday, June 1, 2007 12 min read By: Peter Berkowitz. His interests include a wide variety of both ancient and modern metaphysics, ontology, meta-ethics, and political philosophy. 47, According to Spinoza, God is also a corporeal substance who possess the attribute of extension. Einstein identified himself as a follower of Baruch Spinoza, a 17th-century Dutch-Jewish pantheist philosopher who saw God in every aspect of existence as well as extending beyond what we can perceive in the world. Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived. 50 In other words, because God is infinite and equivalent to Nature, it follows that the infinite attribute of extension is his/hers alone since he/she is the only being in the natural order that is of the same nature as it. What is that pattern? The God Spinoza presents to us, is not one of egomaniac nature but rather a primordial force, a neutral force which people have the power to use or to discard. Spinoza demonstrates this by first showing how nothing can come before God. Although wishing to give the impression that their highbrow books buck the trend, in reality they preach to the Spinoza continues to state that joy is a persons passage from a lesser state of being to a greater one. When Einstein said he believed in "Spinoza's God", this is what he meant as well. Baruch De Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalist in the century of philosophy, along with French Descartes. My opinion concerning God differs widely from that which is ordinarily defended by modern Christians. scientist) following into spinozas God. Spinozas Modal Metaphysics. Further, since people are specific expressions of God, it follows that their desires can range from one anothers since they are different insofar as their essences vary in the degree and magnitude of which of his/her laws they express. Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? This universe is designed around the pattern of the Divine Mother. Because, if there is no love, then there is no truth. WebGod, according to Spinoza, did not have a personality, or consciousness or any expressed preferences or advice. From this, one may claim that the natural order would be in jeopardy if God changed since he/she would have to bend the laws of nature to do so, which ultimately would give rise to extremely different types of modes unlike those that exists now. Ethics. Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalists of the century philosophy, along with the French Ren Descartes. As men's habits of mind differ, so that some more readily embrace one form of faith, some another, for what moves one to pray may move another to scoff, I conclude that everyone should be free to choose for himself the foundations of his creed, and that faith should be judged only by its fruits; each would then obey God freely with his whole heart, while nothing would be publicly honored save justice and charity. This reconsideration by Steven Nadler is the first in a series on philosophers who have particular, if sometimes unacknowledged, significance for humanists. So many explanations? In other words, because the mind and body concur, it follows that what negatively affects the minds awareness of itself, must also affect the bodys ability to act. His philosophy was one of the major influences on Kant. 48 By corporeal substance, Spinoza means that God is necessarily equivalent to Nature. Remembering, embodying, and expressing your true Self. 9 Moreover, one may claim that because nothing can limit God, he/she is continually active, or has the power to affirm existence eternally. That is, if God were not a corporeal substance, there would be no room for his/her modes to come to be, which is an impossibility since the reality of Nature necessarily provides space for his/her modes to exist. Did you have fun? I am pure love. 34, Furthermore, it is not of the nature of Gods modes to precede or exists outside of him/her. Stop asking me will you tell me how to do my job? Stop being so scared of me. God as Perfect and Not the Cause of Sadness. It is a declaration not an assertion, that is, it is a context from which one chooses to live. Moreover, Spinoza claims that only God can be a substance since the existence of two or more substances with the same essence and attributes would necessarily be identical or incompatible. Stop going to those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and say they are my house! Consequently, Spinoza calls this type of happiness, love, since it not only causes joy, but it also is the state of being in which people can project joy onto what they understand to be the cause of that feeling. Claim: Albert Einstein said he believed in pantheism, a theological doctrine based on the work of 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza. WebAnswer (1 of 7): I have to endeavor an answer because I disagree (respectfully) with the other answers here. Heres some of him. Spinoza on Human Freedom closes on a high note, with a strong chapter that examines how the state can contribute to the freedom or autonomy of the individual. WebTherefore, Spinoza argues that the only substance is God (Ethics, II. First published Tue Aug 21, 2007; substantive revision Fri Sep 14, 2018. 16321677 . 29 Finally, Spinoza continues by addressing the nature of modes or that which ultimately derives from God and his/her attributes. The Tractatus, Nadler points out, is a more readable and urgent book than his posthumously published magnum opus, the Ethics, with its rigorously Euclidean, axiomatic format, but the books have a common aim: liberation from bondage, whether psychological, political, or religious.. 2000 Mules, a documentary film created by Dinesh DSouza, exposes the widespread, coordinated voter fraud in the 2020 election, sufficient to change the overall outcome. 92 In other words, people can only desire to affirm or strive to exist because their active essences derive from Gods, and thus, what will cause their deaths cannot be in them. Finally, knowledge of God, by only being promotive of peoples well-beings is due to his/her perfection, and since sadness is deleterious to them, it follows that nothing evil, or useless can derive from him/her, and thus, his/her flawlessness remains preserved. Few philosophers have been so mythologised as the 17th century Jew, Baruch Spinoza. Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Len Satov https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SuzanneMaresca. Beloved ones, do not allow yourselves to be distracted, yes, by the chaos. 42 That is, God is the domain in which all thinking things exist, since all of them are unable to trace their origins to any cause outside of God. Heaven or hell. Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity. Furthermore, when something causes someone joy, it follows that that person is feeling joy due to that thing, and not from the feelings of happiness alone. Orlando, Florida, 32816 | 407.823.2000 99 That is, joy increases the minds ability to think and the bodys ability to act, and thus, it assists and brings people to a state in which they strive more powerfully in their beings. God is the Immanent Cause of all things, never truly transcendent from them. Spinoza said that God can be seen in the laws of nature, doubted the immortality of the soul, argued against faith, and denied the existence of angels. Spinoza's God Paperback January 20, 2010 by Franklin Lonzo Dixon Jr. (Author), Bonnie S (Illustrator), Dixon (Illustrator) 12 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $0.00 Read with Kindle Unlimited to also enjoy access to over 3 million more titles $7.00 to buy Paperback $15.74 4 Used from $9.47 2 New from $12.50 When you see the shadow, it defines the light. WebBENEDICT SPINOZA. Moreover, with distorted views of reality, people cannot adequately understand their persistent sorrows, and it is tough to assuage the pains that follow from that state of being. Jaspers, Karl. "The key to Love is sharing, [balancing] give and receive." Exactly. But once we recognize this inexorable order as Gods only providence, we arrive at a serene acceptance of the world, combined with a virtuous immunity to its petty distractions and snares, thus partaking of the true freedom which belongs to God. When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was: Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist. Spinoza seems to have feared nothing and regretted nothing, and he lived a life of quiet, exemplary virtue. 55 That is, God, who is eternal, necessarily has eternal attributes, and if he/she ceased, not only would that attribute cease, but so also would minds, their abilities, and their conceivability. WebSpinoza argues for the existence of God through its perfection. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. In other words, because only substances are causes of themselves, it follows that only they are unique, and thus, by not being of the same ontological type they are unable to interact. 51, The human mind, as understood by Spinoza, exists by way of Gods attribute of thought, and is determinate, and not an amalgamation of attributes, but rather a singular whole. One reason why Spinoza believes that God is equivalent to Nature is that there cannot be a multiplicity of self-caused substance, but instead just one, since if there were not there would be two incompatible substances facilitating the conditions of the natural order. 37 From this, one may claim that modes cannot exist outside of God because, for something to exist outside of something else, it must precede it. Keeping with his father's wishes he studied Jewish theology. That is, to Spinoza, God cannot defy who he/she is since it is not in his/her ability to do so. Building, anchoring, and restoring hope, trust and Love within the human community. Express your joy! 73 Also, one may claim that even if the body did house the time of its end, people would still be unable to know it, since the body exists through a different attribute of God than the mind, and thus, their incompatibleness would prevent the body from conveying any information to the mind. 407-823-2273 63 That is, bodies, like other surfaces, reflect what impacts them, and the remnants of those effects continues on, both in Nature and on those bodies impacted. In other words, external ideas that can act upon people, do not directly derive from them, but are compatible with their minds, since, as ideas, they are of the same nature as their immaterial minds. 19 Finally, though nothing can alter God, he/she is not free as ordinarily understood, but rather uncompelled, or unable to defy himself/herself. Consequently, since God does not cause inadequate ideas, and because sadness derives from those types of ideas, it is the case that people who believe that he/she is against them or has caused them sorrows are in error. I want you to In other words, people do not find joy in the feeling of joy alone, but rather from the source of that joy, which Spinoza claims is love since it becomes an ability individuals have to return their feelings of joy to what caused that emotion. Steven Nadlers lucid book about Spinozas shocking book takes its title from a contemporary pamphlet that described it as a book forged in hell. Nadlers own book was forged in Madison, where he is a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. Although Leibniz had many philosophical and intellectual interests, he was arguably most Especially of interest to those new to these subjects. Furthermore, because people can know the difference between adequate and inadequate ideas, it is the case that they can understand those ideas that increase their abilities to think, or not, and thus, what can affect their bodies to strive more ably, or not, to live. 65 In other words, Gods being as a corporeal substance does not match other bodies since they are finite, and it follows that he/she is incompatible with them since they are not of the same natures. God is the efficient cause not only of the existence of things, but also of their essence. (Always) free introductory texts on Ascension, Disclosure, Abundance, and Accountability. 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