(Reprint: Snow Day Lecture #3) In What Is Philosophy, Deleuze and Guattari refer to Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) as “prince of philosophers.” Spinoza, they write, “is the only philosopher never to have compromised with transcendence and to have hunted it down everywhere […] He discovered that freedom exists only within immanence” (48). Indeed, Einstein publicly confessed his faith in “Spinoza’s God.” Spinoza’s God. Behind the debate is a basic question about the role of love in determining how I become who I am, a question about how who I aspire to be is wrapped up with whom or what, and how, I love. Baruch Spinoza was a seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher who tried to reinvent religion – moving it away from something based on superstition and ideas of direct divine intervention to being a discipline that was far more impersonal, quasi-scientific and yet also, at all times, serenely consoling. That wondrous statement: ‘Whoever loves God rightly, must not demand that God love him in return,’ with all the premises upon which it rests, with all the consequences which arise out of it, filled my whole reflection. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. Baruch Spinoza. – what I’d like to suggest is that our philosophers present us here with two different models of “true love,” two models of an ideal form of love which is not (or is not merely) erotic love. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) has long appealed to skeptics and secularists. Artist: Antonio Canova, 1787. Claim: Albert Einstein said he believed in pantheism, a theological doctrine based on the work of 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza. (Spinoza) : God would say: Stop praying. Shelley … In the 18th century, “Spinozism” was a synonym for atheism. God is the efficient cause not only of the existence of things, but also of their essence. Here’s some of him. The Book of God - Ebook written by Baruch Spinoza. God According To Baruch Spinoza Today I would like to share with you a bit of Spinoza’s ideologies which have touched my spirit. Closer to the time and place of Spinoza’s later critics, no less towering a German cultural figure than J.W. Spinoza believed, much as Socrates believed, the excellent life Baruch Spinoza God is the efficient cause not only of the existence of things, but also of their essence. For I hold that God is of all things the cause immanent, as the phrase is, not transient. Or can I actually be understood as depending on God to recognize or to engage me, in some way, as part of the process through which I become who I am? And such questioning becomes religiously, and not merely existentially, interesting when one considers God as party to our loving relationships. By decree of the angels and by the command of the holy men, we excommunicate, expel, curse and damn Baruch de Espinoza, with the consent of God. Baruch Spinoza was a seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher who tried to reinvent religion – moving it away from something based on superstition and ideas of direct divine intervention to being a discipline that was far more impersonal, quasi-scientific and … According to Spinoza, reality is perfection. Baruch (de) Spinoza Dutch: Portuguese: born Baruch Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent Benedictus de Spinoza, anglicized to Benedict de Spinoza; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677 was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) Baruch Spinoza was one of the great philosophers of the age of Rationalism and a major influence thereafter, as on, paradoxically, both of the bitter enemies Arthur Schopenhauer and G.W.F. Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalists of the century philosophy, along with the French René Descartes. Corr. God is the Immanent Cause of all things, never truly transcendent from them. In the universe anything that happens comes from the essential nature of objects, or of God or Nature. For that very reason – and because it is so easy to presume, intuitively, that the critique of Spinozist love is right – it is important to point out that in articulating his account of loving God in the way he does, Spinoza is heir to a long and venerable tradition. Einstein Shares His Belief in Spinoza’s God Einstein tried to express these feelings clearly, both for himself and all of those who wanted a simple answer from him about his faith. 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. I want you … The doctrines added by certain churches, such as that God took upon himself human nature, I have expressly said that I do not understand; in fact, to speak the truth, they seem to me no less absurd than would a statement, that a circle had taken upon itself the nature of a square. Its youthful author lived in turbulent times, when the Western world was torn by civil and … Baruch Spinoza Quote of the day The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) published his most famous and influential work, the 1674 (Ethics Demonstrated with Geometrical Order). 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. In the 18th century, “Spinozism” was a synonym for atheism. "Do you believe in God?" The Jackson School is a proud member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. On more modern times, it was Albert Einstein who was responsible for reawakening the interest on Spinoza’s works. Baruch Spinoza clearly learned a great many things over the course of his short life, but Nature Boy’s “greatest thing” was apparently not one of them. He who loves God cannot endeavor that God should love him in return. This is the nature of the God of Spinoza: God would have said: These Baruch Spinoza quotes will motivate you. Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. “Human Beings are Determined” by Baruch Spinoza as The Ethics,1 a book published posthumously from the fear of persecu- tion from the charge of the blasphemy of pantheism.2 Pantheism should be distinguished from “panentheism” which is the view that gods are in Baruch De Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher, of Portuguese Jewish origin, considered one of the great rationalists of his time along with the French philosopher Rene Descartes. Remarkable Last Words (or Near-Last Words). Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes. If circumstances are seen as unfortunate it is only because of our inadequate conception of reality. But they are certainly well represented among modern Jewish thinkers, as well. Spinozism (also spelled Spinozaism) is the monist philosophical system of Baruch Spinoza that defines "God" as a singular self-subsistent substance, with both matter and thought being attributes of such. © 2016 Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington | Seattle, WA, A Sephardic Lighthouse: A Sephardic Jewish Journey Exhibit, The Henry M. 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The said Espinoza should be excommunicated and expelled from the people of Israel. “Human Beings are Determined” by Baruch Spinoza as The Ethics,1 a book published posthumously from the fear of persecu-tion from the charge of the blasphemy of pantheism.2 Pantheism should be distinguished from “panentheism” which is the view that gods are in all things. In regard to intellect and true virtue, every nation is on a par with the rest, and God has not in these respects chosen one people rather than another. It became the most famous version of an answer he gave often: “I believe in Spinoza’s God,” who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of all that exists, but not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.” I say that all things are in God and move in God. Baruch Spinoza Concerning God Baruch Spinoza was a famous philosopher whose most famous work is ethics. Quotes by Baruch Spinoza about God, Eternity and the Universe. Spinoza was one of the first philosophers to apply a historic-critical view and analysis of the Bible. Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes. They had immigrated to Amsterdam from Portugal in order to escape the Inquisition that had spread across the Iberian Peninsula and live in the relatively tolerant atmosphere of Holland. Most people parade their own ideas as God’s Word, mainly to compel others to think like them under religious pretexts. In spite of which, he remains the best known and least read of the great thinkers. This is a very high level, and not every wise person attains it. Born in 1632, he was the son of Marrano parents. I have never studied Spinoza's philosophy in detail, nor can I even read Latin, but I have always understood Spinoza's concept of God to be of the same flavor as Brahman mentioned in the Vedic literature. Baruch – the word means ‘Blessed’ in Hebrew – was born in the Jewish quarter of … Cosmos depicts this connection with film footage of Einstein visiting the Spinoza museum. (“Laws of Repentance,” Ch. According to Spinoza, the intellectual love of God represents the very peak of human achievement and happiness. God According To Baruch Spinoza Today I would like to share with you a bit of Spinoza’s ideologies which have touched my spirit. Logic is the last scientific ingredient of Philosophy; its extraction leaves behind only a confusion of non-scientific, pseudo problems. Taking their lead, in part, from the German Idealist view (expressed especially clearly by J.G Fichte and GWF Hegel) that we only become full-blooded selves when we are recognized as selves by others, these Jewish thinkers advocated an alternative model of true love that highlighted the importance of reciprocity. Einstein used only about half his allotted number of words. And he always answered: "I believe in the God of Spinoza." His rabbinical colleagues of the synagogue in Amsterdam, Holland accused him of heresy. Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes. It is not often that a Jew is excommunicated by his fellow Jews, but in 1656, Baruch Spinoza managed this dubious distinction. Baruch Spinoza . One of the early thinkers of the Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy. (Spinoza) : God would say: Stop praying. Individual things are nothing but modifications of the attributes of God, or modes by which the attributes of God are expressed in a fixed and definite manner. 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. While components of the chain of cause and effect are not beyon… He was raised in the Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam. Then there is true love understood as reciprocal, as a relationship in which each member recognizes, respects, and is invested in her beloved other, in a way that is constitutive of each lover’s very personhood. That eternal and infinite being we call God, or Nature [Deus sive Natura], acts from the same necessity from which he exists. For those of you who may not know about him, he was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese origin and was considered one of the greatest minds of his time. (Reprint: Snow Day Lecture #3) In What Is Philosophy, Deleuze and Guattari refer to Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) as “prince of philosophers.” Spinoza, they write, “is the only philosopher never to have compromised with transcendence and to have hunted it down everywhere […] He discovered that freedom exists only within immanence” (48). Our motto is: Don't quote it if you can't source it. In so far as the mind sees things in their eternal aspect, it participates in eternity. Is God to be understood as a supreme being to whom I submit myself, or with whom I seek to identify in my life? 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. The Book of God, one of his earliest works, came to light only a hundred years ago in two slightly varying Dutch manuscripts. “The Creation of Adam.” Artist: Michelangelo, 1512. Baruch Spinoza clearly learned a great many things over the course of his short life, but Nature Boy’s “greatest thing” was apparently not one of them. "Do you believe in God?" Goethe recalls in his autobiography: This spirit who affected me so decisively and who was to have such a great influence on my entire way of thinking was Spinoza. By Benjamin Pollock. Baruch Spinoza, "Human Beings are Determined" Abstract: Baruch Spinoza argues against the doctrine of free will as a result of demonstrating that the activity of our minds is equivalent to the activity of our bodies.The mind is more or less active (or contemplative) in accordance with the body's activity or sensing. Part one tries to teach his philosophical notion of God, and how God is everything. Then, he asserted the idea that God was nature. Goethe finds in Spinoza’s account of divine love a model of unconditional love. Shelley … Now it is evident, from the definition above given, that prophecy really includes ordinary knowledge; for the knowledge which we acquire by our natural faculties depends on our knowledge of God and his eternal laws; but ordinary knowledge is common to all men as men, and rests on foundations which all share, whereas the multitude always strains after rarities and exceptions, and thinks little of the gifts of nature ; so that, when prophecy is talked of, ordinary knowledge is not supposed to be included. God is the indwelling and not the transient cause of all things. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) has long appealed to skeptics and secularists. So I use to be an atheist and I would dismiss any idea of God as being anthropocentric. Spinoza does his teachings through definitions, explanations, proposals, proofs, and truths. To be unselfish in everything, to be most unselfish in love and friendship was my highest desire, my maxim, my practice, so that that sassy later statement, ‘If I love you, what does that have to do with you?’ was spoken rightly out of my heart (Dichtung und Wahrheit, MA 16:667). Spinoza came into the world a Jew. “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn,” crooned Nat King Cole in his 1948 hit “Nature Boy,” “is just to love and be loved in return.”. In several works, Maimonides presents a love of God which seeks nothing in return as the very ideal of divine service. Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. Aside from spotting inconsistencies and flaws in the text, he took his own view point on religion, in which God is all and all is God. The God and Nature of Spinoza: This is Spinoza’s Philosophy in a Nutshell Spinoza is today considered the Philosopher of Modern Times, as Aristotle was the Philosopher of Antiquity. Baruch (de) Spinoza (/bəˈruːk spɪˈnoʊzə/; Dutch: [baːˈrux spɪˈnoːzaː]; Portuguese: [ðɨ ʃpiˈnɔzɐ]; born Baruch Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent Benedictus de Spinoza, anglicized to Benedict de Spinoza; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677 ) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin. And finally – a matter for speculation – in what ways might even God be understood as needing the love and devotion of human beings? Beth Lord discusses Spinoza with Alan Saunders in an episode of the Philosopher's Zone from a few years back. OP=Theist. I thought it was incredibly unlikely for a God to exist that was made in man's image and when I would talk about this with other Christians they had no answer. Benjamin Pollock is the Sol Rosenbloom Chair of Jewish Philosophy and Associate Professor of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Here he is, for example, in the “Laws of Repentance” from the Mishneh Torah: One who serves [God] out of love occupies himself in the Torah and the commandments, and walks in the paths of wisdom, for nothing in the world: not because of fear of evil, and not in order to acquire favor. I do not think it necessary for salvation to know Christ according to the flesh : but with regard to the Eternal Son of God, that is the Eternal Wisdom of God, which has manifested itself in all things and especially in the human mind, and above all in Christ Jesus, the case is far otherwise. Baruch (de) Spinoza (/ b ə ˈ r uː k s p ɪ ˈ n oʊ z ə /; Dutch: [baːˈrux spɪˈnoːzaː]; Portuguese: [ðɨ ʃpiˈnɔzɐ]; born Baruch Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent Benedictus de Spinoza, anglicized to Benedict de Spinoza; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Sephardi origin. Only reciprocal love – even in the case of loving God – entails the kind of relationship that respects the integral value of, and contributes to the healthy realization of, the personal selves of those in love. In his eyes, Spinoza presents an ideal of selflessness which the human being should cultivate in all her relationships. We … Rather than declare the argument between Spinoza and his later critics decided before it even begins – for who wouldn’t want to be loved in return! During the 16th century, Jewish people living on the … It is the level of our Patriarch, Abraham, whom God described as “my lover,” for he served [God] out of nothing but love. 1: “Do not be like servants who serve their master in order to receive a reward, but rather be like servants who serve their master in order not to receive a reward.”. Rather, he does what is true because it is true, and ultimately, good will come of it. Spinoza’s God was nature, or some aspect of it. … What attached me to him especially was his limitless unselfishness which shone forth from every sentence [in the Ethics]. Spinoza's father, Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in the 17th century of a businessman father who was successful but not wealthy. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read The Book of God. Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. 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