IANALbutIAMAcat 4 yr. ago I agree with you here. 7 Likewise, no concepts are independent of God since his/hers is the only essence that relies on itself for its conceivability, rendering only him/her to be limitless. His thought combines a 91, From this it follows that affects can either assists people or deter them from their desires to live, or aid or restrain their innate abilities to be. 41 From this, it follows that God necessarily houses all thinking things, since nothing can exist outside of him/her, and thus, they are subject to the laws of thought that his/her essence exudes, which, in turn, allows them to be conceivable. 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. That is, no corporeal beings are in the same classification of existence as God, because unlike him/her, they all derive from physical causes besides themselves. In the 18th century, Spinozism was a synonym for atheism. WebTo Spinoza attributes of God or that which one can perceive as being of his/her nature, are eternal and infinite. I will guide you. 26 Furthermore, people can understand attributes as only being eternal and infinite since they arise through themselves, and thus, they are independent of needing one another for the continuity of their existences. 99 That is, joy increases the minds ability to think and the bodys ability to act, and thus, it assists and brings people to a state in which they strive more powerfully in their beings. Remembering, embodying, and expressing your true Self. Baruch De Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalist in the century of philosophy, along with French Descartes. Einstein identified himself as a follower of Baruch Spinoza, a 17th-century Dutch-Jewish pantheist philosopher who saw God in every aspect of existence as well as extending beyond what we can perceive in the world. Respect your peers and dont do what you dont want for yourself. In some texts, Leibniz locates the source of contingency purely in Gods choice of the best, which cannot be demonstrated. Popkin, Richard H., ed. Re-Intoxicated by God. WebAnswer (1 of 7): I can't definitely speak for him, but it's generally agreed he meant that the universe is governed by laws and that these consistently shape and define our In other words, external ideas that can act upon people, do not directly derive from them, but are compatible with their minds, since, as ideas, they are of the same nature as their immaterial minds. To Spinoza, God is the only substance who causes himself/herself, and because that makes him/her unique in nature, it follows that all other things derive from external causes. Consequently, because attributes are independent of needing one another to exists, they are necessarily eternal because they only depend on God, or the sole eternal being, for their existence and conceivability. Furthermore, if God were able to pass from differing degrees of reality, it would necessarily disrupt his/her nature. Baruch (Benedict) De Spinoza was born in 1632 in Amsterdam to Jewish parents. To Spinoza, the human body exists by way of Gods attribute of extension. (Archangel Michael: Do not Get Caught in the Drama of White Hats or Black Hats, Nov. 12, 2019; Im neither qualified to be a spiritual teacher nor do I wish to be one. You live in tumultuous times and you live in a time of fulfilment. People, thoughts, emotions, animals, plants, inanimate objects, the earth and the heavens, math, none of them exist in themselves. Early in The Ethics Spinoza argues that there is only one substance, which is absolutely infinite, self-caused, and eternal. There is, after all, that famous chapter head in the Ethics, Of human bondage, or the strength of the emotions. In the Tractatus Spinoza compares the arbitrary divine power exercised in the Bible to the rule of some royal potentate. He wants to liberate us from a heavenly despot whom we abjectly petition for miraculous favors or reprieves, from clerics who claim to be his agents and intermediaries, and from the powerful and capricious emotions, especially hope and fear, that those clerics exploit. And if there is, rest assured that I wont ask if you behaved right or wrong, Ill ask. 17. 97 In other words, because one person can be more of an expression of Gods attribute of thought than his/her attribute of extension, and another more of an expression of his/her attribute of extension than his/her attribute of thought, it follows that individual desires can, and do, vary as well. Moreover, if God were free, as colloquially understood, he/she would be able to choose to cease being active, and thus, the continuity of existence would be in jeopardy since he/she would have the ability to be inactive. In other words, because the mind and body concur, it follows that what negatively affects the minds awareness of itself, must also affect the bodys ability to act. 37 From this, one may claim that modes cannot exist outside of God because, for something to exist outside of something else, it must precede it. What is that pattern? I am pure love. Heres some of him. Keeping with his father's wishes he studied Jewish theology. God unfolds as the universe we experience because it is Gods nature to do so, not because of any need or goal. WebTherefore, Spinoza argues that the only substance is God (Ethics, II. 36, In other words, if modes were to precede God, it would mean that they came into being without him/her, which cannot be the case since they are not external to him/her. Moreover, because God is unlike all other bodies, it follows that he/she cannot have a body that resembles a finite body, including those of humans. Unlike the ancient Stoics whom he somewhat resembles, Spinoza thought emotions are best taken care of when they are fully understood, not when they are fully extinguished. Web1. 85 Those external ideas Spinoza calls affects and since they do not arise from peoples ability to conceive ideas, it follows that they have an inadequate knowledge of them. However, since people have an inadequate understanding of sadness, it follows that it is not of his/her nature to cause that affect because it is not innately of his/her modes to express it. 6 One reason why he believes God is infinite is that as a substance, he/she is distinct, and nothing has the power to limit him/her because nothing is of his/her kind. 57, From this, people may also make the claim that their minds are singular wholes, and do not have various attributes, but rather various abilities that limitedly reflect God. Of course, you may still wonder if his deterministic nature, which has no room for free will, just exchanges one form of bondage for another. Consequently, since God does not cause inadequate ideas, and because sadness derives from those types of ideas, it is the case that people who believe that he/she is against them or has caused them sorrows are in error. The Tractatus, Nadler points out, is a more readable and urgent book than his posthumously published magnum opus, the Ethics, with its rigorously Euclidean, axiomatic format, but the books have a common aim: liberation from bondage, whether psychological, political, or religious.. From this, Spinoza claims that many bodies together form more complex bodies, which include those of humans, and those individual bodies composing more intricate bodies unite in such a way that they too retain the effects of what affects them. WebSpinoza is often put forward as the father of pantheism and as the greatest pantheist, but in fact his writings on God are extremely abstract and theoretical, very unappealing to a This is my clarion call to all of humanity to embrace love, to embrace truth, to embrace peace, Build what is divinely beautiful. Yet in his major philosophical works, he can hardly stop talking about God, whose existence never seems to be in doubtprompting the German poet Novalis, one of the many Romantic poets enchanted with him, to call him that God-intoxicated man., Einsteins answer to a New York rabbi clears things up a bit. 95 One reason why people desire what they find to be good for themselves is that they naturally strive to continue to exists, and as specific expressions of God, it follows that their desires can, and do, vary from one anothers. Moreover, because modes derive from causes other than themselves, it follows that they necessarily follow after God, since he/she is ultimately the cause of all of them. Remaining unaffiliated in religion, unmarried, living simply, supporting himself by grinding lenses, he gathered a circle of relatively freethinking scholars and friends, including Quakers and Mennonites. 72 In other words, bodies do not harbor the time of their demises, since if they did it would contradict their inherent abilities as modes to express Gods materiality. 83 That is, the mind and body are coherent, since they ultimately derive from one unified substance, and since that one unified substance immanently causes all things, or is innately in them, it follows that the mind would reduce to the body and the body to the mind if they existed through the right attributes. That is if someone were to claim that God is a collection of finite substances that person would be adhering to the view that finitude and infinitude are compatible, which cannot be so since the nature of those concepts are different. We are helping you. University of Central Florida. Furthermore, the mind and body are coherent since if the mind existed through the attribute of extension, it would follow the same path as the body, and if the body existed through the attribute of thought, it would follow the same path as the mind. For I hold that God is of all things the cause immanent, as the phrase is, not transient. Building, anchoring, and restoring hope, trust and Love within the human community. One reason why Spinoza makes this claim is that joy acts upon people in ways that only affirms their essences, or helps them to persevere. And why were less interested now in Spinozas logic than in his peace of mind. 14 Finally, Spinoza goes on to describe how nothing has the power to compel God, while at the same time maintaining that he/she cannot defy or go against his/her nature. Furthermore, when something causes someone joy, it follows that that person is feeling joy due to that thing, and not from the feelings of happiness alone. Everything is determined, not by Gods willHe doesnt have onebut by our being, with everything else, an integral part of Gods being. 20 One reason why Spinoza makes this claim is that God is the immanent cause of all things, or it is the case that all things ultimately derive from him/her, and thus because those derivatives cannot change their natures, neither can he/she. I do not think it necessary for salvation to know Christ according to the flesh : but with regard If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past. Gods perfection gives all things existence as well as essence (Spinoza, 1985, p. 87) . From this, one may claim that the natural order would be in jeopardy if God changed since he/she would have to bend the laws of nature to do so, which ultimately would give rise to extremely different types of modes unlike those that exists now. From this, it follows that sadness, which derives from inadequate ideas and lessens the minds ability to think and the bodys ability to act, is identifiable by people due to those effects. 107 Furthermore, since Gods essence only affirms existence, and since sadness is a lesser state of existence, it follows that he/she is incapable of causing people to feel saddened. 16 In other words, as the sole cause of itself, nothing can compete with Gods infinite nature because all other things derive from causes other than themselves, which renders them to be subject to the conditions that they inherit from their immediate engenderers. Hence, because God is not anthropomorphic, it follows that whatever changes occur in peoples bodies cannot change God, or Natures body, in any way. Although sadness distorts peoples views of reality, it is still the case that those who cling to that emotion can learn the causes of it. Sign up now to get the Washington Examiners breaking news and timely commentary delivered right to your inbox. Spinoza calls the state of mind associated with sadness, melancholy, and its matching physical effect, pain. Beloved ones, do not allow yourselves to be distracted, yes, by the chaos. His philosophy was one of the major influences on Kant. 59. In responsibility, there is no. (Read more), Whats Actually Happening with Chemtrails? Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what youve been taught about me. Spinoza's God Paperback January 20, 2010 by Franklin Lonzo Dixon Jr. (Author), Bonnie S (Illustrator), Dixon (Illustrator) 12 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $0.00 Read with Kindle Unlimited to also enjoy access to over 3 million more titles $7.00 to buy Paperback $15.74 4 Used from $9.47 2 New from $12.50 5454, Moreover, the mind relies on the continuity of Gods attribute of thought, and since that attribute is limitless, or necessarily eternal, it follows that without it minds would cease to perceive and conceive ideas, or be conceivable. Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in the 17th century of a businessman father who was successful but not wealthy. Spinozas instinct for statist control and his distrust of the common man are displayed in Theological-Political Treatise (published 1670). God is the Immanent Cause of all things, never truly transcendent from them. Consequently, people may claim that they cannot know other minds as well as their minds since they only have ideas of other minds and not the knowledge of what it is to be in those other minds. 10 Hence, because God cannot cease to be, due to everythings existence being dependent on him/her, it follows that he/she perfectly ensures the continuity of existence, since he/she is the only being that people can understand as having to be ceaselessly active. Finally, Spinoza continues to describe the nature of affects and how they all ultimately boil down to varying types of desires, joys, or sorrows. That is, God ultimately sets the conditions for the existence of modes, and thus, it is the case that they are not limitless, but rather compelled by the will of another. But thats why secularist readers (Nadler among them) have always seen Spinozas God as a thin disguise for an orderly, perhaps awe-inspiring, but purposeless and indifferent nature. To Spinoza, God is the Universe, but not merely the Universe but rather it is the entire cosmos, SEEN FROM A UNIVERSAL, COSMIC POINT OF VIEW. He isnt the God of the Bible, the personal God of Spinozas own Jewish tradition, or of Christianity, the one whose job description includes closely monitoring human affairs and miraculously intervening in them. WebSpinoza is often put forward as the father of pantheism and as the greatest pantheist, but in fact his writings on God are extremely abstract and theoretical, very unappealing to a modern scientific viewpoint. 82. From this, one may also claim that because it is innate of thinking things to think, it follows that God must possess the attribute of thought because what is inherently in him/her, must, in some ways, be in his/her modes, due to his/her immanence. (Jesus through Linda Dillon, Heart Call, Sept. 19, 2020.). 15 That is, God, as the only limitless being, is not subject to the will of another since nothing causes itself except for him/her. 13 First, it is not the case that many infinite substances can exist because if they did that would mean that they would be unique and compatible at the same time, which is nonsensical. That is, if God were not equivalent to Nature, there would necessarily be two Gods, one to facilitate the laws of thought, and the other the laws of extension, which cannot be, since the natural order presents itself as a unified whole.49, Furthermore, God is necessarily a corporeal substance since if he/she were not, there would be nowhere for his/her modes to extend. Freedom means minimizing our emotional subjection to things outside ourselves. Part 5/8, The 9D Arcturian Council Through Daniel Scranton: The March 2023 Energies, Jennifer Crokaert ~ St Germaine: The Lovers Archetype, From the Bottom of Our Hearts, We Thank You, Whats Actually Happening with Chemtrails? Im a writer who wishes to share his views with you on subjects of mutual interest and listen to yours as lightworker equals and spiritual adults. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything Ive made for you. 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. Like Einstein, we can likely use some of his soothing sense of cosmic harmony, whether or not we pay it the compliment of calling it Spinozas God. Steven Nadlers lucid book about Spinozas shocking book takes its title from a contemporary pamphlet that described it as a book forged in hell. Nadlers own book was forged in Madison, where he is a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. Spinoza is the first philosopher to write a systematic defense of democracy; it appears in his Theologico-Political Treatise, published in 1670. That is, if God were not a corporeal substance, there would be no room for his/her modes to come to be, which is an impossibility since the reality of Nature necessarily provides space for his/her modes to exist. The said Espinoza should be excommunicated and expelled from the people of Israel. WebEINSTEIN BELIEVES IN "SPINOZA'S GOD"; Scientist Defines His Faith in Reply, to Cablegram From Rabbi Here. Consequently, because bodies come to be through the same attribute of God, are, in fact, compatible, it follows that they are subject to the effects of other bodies in many ways, specifically in how they have abilities to overpower one another by causing one another to move or come to a halt. That gateway is open and you are being flooded and you are being assisted and you will be assisted every step of the way. 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