Baruch Spinoza

"Spinoza" redirects here. For other uses, see Spinoza (disambiguation).

Baruch Spinoza
Born
Baruch Espinosa[9] /
Bento de Spinosa[10]

(1632-11-24)24 November 1632
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic
Died21 February 1677(1677-02-21) (aged 44)
The Hague, Dutch Republic
Other namesBenedictus de Spinoza
Education
Era
Region
School
Main interests
Signature

Baruch (de) Spinoza[b] (24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza significantly influenced modern biblical criticism, 17th-century rationalism, and Dutch intellectual culture, establishing himself as one of the most important and radical philosophers of the early modern period.[15] Influenced by Stoicism, Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes,[16] Ibn Tufayl,[17] and heterodox Christians, Spinoza was a leading philosopher of the Dutch Golden Age.[18]

Spinoza was born in Amsterdam to a Marrano family that fled Portugal for the more tolerant Dutch Republic. He received a traditional Jewish education, learning Hebrew and studying sacred texts within the Portuguese Jewish community, where his father was a prominent merchant. As a young man, Spinoza challenged rabbinic authority and questioned Jewish doctrines, leading to his permanent expulsion from the Jewish community in 1656. Following his excommunication, he distanced himself from all religious affiliations and devoted himself to philosophical inquiry and lens grinding. Spinoza attracted a dedicated circle of followers who gathered to discuss his writings and joined him in the intellectual pursuit of truth.

Spinoza published little to avoid persecution and bans on his books. In his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, described by Steven Nadler as "one of the most important books of Western thought", Spinoza questioned the divine origin of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of God while arguing that ecclesiastic authority should have no role in a secular, democratic state.[19][20] Ethics argues for a pantheistic view of God and explores the place of human freedom in a world devoid of theological, cosmological, and political moorings.[21] Rejecting messianism and the emphasis on the afterlife, Spinoza emphasized appreciating and valuing life for oneself and others. By advocating for individual liberty in its moral, psychological, and metaphysical dimensions, Spinoza helped establish the genre of political writing called secular theology.[22]

Spinoza's philosophy spans nearly every area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. His friends posthumously published his works, captivating philosophers for the next two centuries. Celebrated as one of the most original and influential thinkers of the seventeenth century, Rebecca Goldstein dubbed him "the renegade Jew who gave us modernity."[23]

  1. ^ Garber 2015, p. 121.
  2. ^ Newlands 2017, p. 64.
  3. ^ Young, James O. (26 June 2018). "The Coherence Theory of Truth". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  4. ^ David, Marian (28 May 2015). "The Correspondence Theory of Truth". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  5. ^ Koistinen 2018, p. 288.
  6. ^ Kreines 2015, p. 25.
  7. ^ LeBuffe, Michael (26 May 2020). "Spinoza's Psychological Theory". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  8. ^ Yovel 1989b, p. 3.
  9. ^ Nadler 1999, p. 45.
  10. ^ Nadler 1999, p. 119.
  11. ^ Adler 2014, p. 27.
  12. ^ "Spinoza". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. ^ Nadler 1999, p. 42.
  14. ^ Israel 2023, pp. 353–54.
  15. ^ Nadler 2018, pp. xiii–xiv.
  16. ^ Schmitter, Amy M. (8 April 2021). Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). "Spinoza on the Emotions". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  17. ^ Attar 2007, p. 52.
  18. ^ Israel 2023, p. 63.
  19. ^ Nadler 2011, pp. xi–xii.
  20. ^ Nadler 2018, p. 332.
  21. ^ Stewart 2006, p. 308.
  22. ^ Smith 1997, pp. 2–3.
  23. ^ Goldstein 2006, p. i.


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