Benedict+Spinoza



BIOGRAPHY:

-Born on November 24, 1632, in Amsterdam, Dutch -Raised in Amsterdam´s Portuguese Jewish Community -From early childhood forced to attend the Keter Torah yeshiva of the Amsterdam Talmud Torah congregation (faction of Jewish studies) -In 1653, at age of 20- Begins Latin studies with Franciscus van den Enden (a French freethinker, Jesuit, radical democrat) -During later studies, became in contact with other groups and doctrines such as the Collegiants (anti-clerical sect, favoring rationalism) -July 27, 1656- issued with harshest writ of cherem, excommunication from the Jewish community on the basis of the exposition of radical theological views, and to avoid connections with controversial figures whom rejected to the orthodoxy of the doctrine -During the next years, Spinoza would live in Amsterdam, as a private philosophy teacher -During such years he wrote works such as “Short Treatise on God, Man, and His well being” -After moving to Rinjinsburg (the headquarter of the Cllegiants) he worked in his “Principles of Cartesian Philosophy” and “Ethics” -1670- published “Theological Political Treatise”; opposition to secular and constitutional government -Later wrote “Political Treatise”- “On the Rainbow” and “On the Calculation of Chances” -Spinoza dies in 1676

MAIN BELIEFS AND IDEAS:

-Imparted unity to the tradition of radical thought -Believed that body and mind the same entity (opposite to Descartes) -Everything in nature is one reality (one substance) -There is a set of rules that governs our reality -GOD and Nature are the same Reality (one single substance); basis of the universe, which all “lesser” entities are just modes and modifications of this sole substance -Nature comes to be as it is, due to a complex chain of cause and Effect (mildly understood by us) -Humans believe they have free will, this it is a result of the appetites while being unable to understand the reasons why they wish to act in such ways

-Spinoza, as a writer; “Epicurean materialist” -Nature, God; of having infinite attributes -The Universal substance consists f the body and mind, there being no difference between these aspects; “mind-body problem” solution known as neutral monism -God; the deterministic system of which everything in nature is part

ATTRIBUTE AND MODE:

-Attribute; that which the intellect perceives as constituting the essence of substance -Mode; the modifications of substance, or that which its exists in something other than itself -Key components of Reality -Everything that happens occurs through the operation of necessity -Freedom; our capacity to know we are determined and understand why we act in such ways -Freedom; not the possibility to say “no” to what happens, but the possibility to say “yes” and fully understand why things occur in such manners -By formulating better ideas about what we do, we understand our affections and emotions better, and are therefore able to become or enroll in the adequate cause of our effects -By doing so, we become more like God -“Man are conscious of their desires and unaware of the causes by which (their desires) are determined”

SPINOZA VS STOICISM

-Stoicism and Spinoza; both sought to fulfill a therapeutic role by instructing people how to attain happiness (become more like God, understand reason behind desires) -Thus, for Spinoza, Emotion was stronger than reason, thus only a stronger emotion could defeat a previous emotion -Believed that science was limited, thus limiting human´s perception of the cause and effect process -His interpretation of metaphysics concluded that emotion is formed from inadequate understanding

KNOWLEDGE:

-Emotions must be detached from causes, master them -Three types of knowledge; opinion, reason, intuition- intuitive knowledge is that provides the greatest satisfaction of mind -Concluded; the more aware and conscious we are of our Nature/Universe/Reality, the more perfect and blessed we are -Good vs. Evil; does not exist, IMPERFECTIONS in our world, flaws, bad aspects about it, only come to be as a result of our limited perceptions- the world is perfect

FAMOUS SAYINGS-QUOTES:

-"Desire is the essence of man..." -"I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them..." -"Pride is pleasure arising from a man's thinking too highly of himself..." -"Only that thing is free which exists by the necessities of its own nature, and is determined in its actions by itself alone..."

KEY WORKS-WRITINGS:

-Ethics (Ethica in Latin) -Theological-Political Treatise -On the Improvements of Understanding -Correspondence


 * Gamble Endnotes:**

Spinoza's Jewish upbringing taught him to consider God as sovereign, in charge of all. For this reason Spinoza rejects the idea of dualism (Descartes) because for God to be God, there could not, for Spinoza be a part of the workd of reality, which was separate fro God. Thus, any mind / spirit division did no make sense to Spinoza. Could could not be just spirit, because that would mean that there is the whole material realm which is outside of God, but God is so big that nothing could be outside of him.

Important connection / relationship between Spinoza and the Greek Stoics. Spinoza's view of God and Nature being virtually the same thing (God in all, of all, pantheistic/ Eastern view) is similar to that of the Stoics. Spinoza, much like the Stoics, then believed that the degree to which man tried to enter in to cooperating with the operation of nature / God, the better off he would be.

Another important academic school of thinking which originates, at least in part, with Spinoza is the idea of higher or source criticism, as opposed to traditional literary criticism. Traditional criticism is about getting at the meaning of a text, its teaching, its purpose and right interpretation. High or source criticism takes a different angle and is concerned with whether the attributed author really is the author of a text, or whether someone else wrote it. This would also be concerned with whether a text had been changed by others, edited, altered, to make it more favorable to a certain audience or circumstance. For example, the Bible attributes Moses as the author of Genesis in the Old Testament, but some Higher Critics challenge this, saying that Genesis is actually a composite of the work of two to four different writers, none of who were Moses.