Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
Baruch Spinoza (24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) — later Benedict de Spinoza — was a Jewish-Dutch philosopher.[1] Demonstrating considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death. By laying the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment[2] and modern biblical criticism,[3] including modern conceptions of the self and, arguably, the universe,[4] he came to be considered one of the great rationalists[3] of 17th-century philosophy. His magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, in which he opposed Descartes's mind–body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of Western philosophy's most important thinkers. In the Ethics, "Spinoza wrote the last indisputable Latin masterpiece, and one in which the refined conceptions of medieval philosophy are finally turned against themselves and destroyed entirely."[5] Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said of all contemporary philosophers, "You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all."[6]
Spinoza's given name in different languages is Hebrew: ברוך שפינוזה Baruch Spinoza, Portuguese: Benedito or Bento de Espinosa and Latin: Benedictus de Spinoza; in all these languages, the given name means "the Blessed". Spinoza was raised in the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam. He developed highly controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine. The Jewish religious authorities issued a cherem (Hebrew: חרם, a kind of ban, shunning, ostracism, expulsion, or excommunication) against him, effectively excluding him from Jewish society at age 23. His books were also later put on the Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden Books.
Spinoza lived quietly as a lens grinder, turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions, and gave his family inheritance to his sister. Spinoza's philosophical accomplishments and moral character prompted 20th century philosopher Gilles Deleuze to name him "the 'prince' of philosophers" (meaning the "first" of "modern materialist" philosophers).[7]
Spinoza died at the age of 44 allegedly of a lung illness, perhaps tuberculosis or silicosis exacerbated by fine glass dust inhaled while grinding optical lenses. Spinoza is buried in the churchyard of the Christian Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague.[8]
Quotes·Quotations by Baruch Spinoza
Peace
@ Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. [Theological-Political treatise (1670)]
Universe
¶ Nothing in the universe is contingent, but all things are conditioned to exist and operate in a particular manner by the necessity of the divine nature. [Ethics (1677), Pt. I, prop. 29]
References
[1]^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Anthony Gottlieb. "God Exists, Philosophically (review of "Spinoza: A Life" by Steven Nadler)". The New York Times, Books. 18 July 1999. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
[2]^ a b "The Spinoza Problem,’ by Irvin Yalom)". The Washington Post. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
[3]^ a b "Play shows the price of Spinoza's ideas -- (David Ives' play "New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation.")". The Boston Globe. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2009.[dead link]; Ives 2009.
[4]^ "Destroyer and Builder )". The New Republic. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
[5]^ a b c Scruton 1986 (2002 ed.), ch. 1, p.32.
[6]^ a b Hegel's History of Philosophy. Google Books. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
[7]^ quoted in the translator's preface of Deleuze Expressionism in Philosophy: Spinoza (1990).
[8]^ de Spinoza, Benedictus; Hessing, Siegfried (1977). Speculum Spinozanum, 1677-1977. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 828., Snipped view of page 828
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza