1. Baruch Spinoza (Benedict Spinoza)
“As a teacher of reality, he practiced his own wisdom, and was surely one of the most exemplary human beings ever to have lived.”
~Harold Bloom

2. Who Was This Guy? Born 1632 to Jewish Portuguese parents
Died 1677 of unknown cuase
Influenced by much of Rene Descartes’ work
Lifetime corresponded with the building of the Taj Mahal
Ottoman Empire at its height (Russia)
Galileo convicted during Spinoza’s lifetime

3. Major Works
Tractatus Theologic-Politicus
Ethics

4. God vs Nature & Sense Perception
God and nature are one and the same; like different languages
God is an abstract being that takes no shape, only the space in our minds.
Belief in cause and effect; no random occurrences
No god will smite you since there is no personality to this deity; the perfect balance of the universe is the only concern
We are the cause of our effects
Reality is perfect; however, sense perception is inadequate for perceiving the world or for discovering universal truths
The universe is perfect; there is no right, wrong, good, or evil, only what is
It’s from lack of understand that we perceive right, wrong, etc, and because of this we have emotions
Emotion comes from lack of understanding

5. Spinoza vs Descartes
Those who agree with Descartes’ views are deemed “Cartesians.”
Descartes’ theories were the starting point for Spinoza
Descartes thought that the mind and body exist as separate entities – Spinoza decided this wasn’t true; he thought they existed a single identity.

6. Works Cited
Dutton, Blake. “Spinoza, Benedict de.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Jul Loyola University Chicago. Feb <
Great Philosophers Oregon State. Feb