104 In other words, sadness exists in God, but cannot act upon him/her, because for that to occur that affect would have to exist outside of him/her, but since nothing can exist in that way, it follows that God is immune to sadness. in Liberal Studies from the College of Staten Island/CUNY and his B.A. 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. 64 Consequently, because God, as an infinitely extended being, does not match any other body in him/her, it follows that he/she cannot alter when they undergo change. Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. University of Central Florida 25 Spinoza makes this claim because God as an eternal and infinite Finally, Spinoza continues to describe the nature of affects and how they all ultimately boil down to varying types of desires, joys, or sorrows. Spinoza is the first philosopher to write a systematic defense of democracy; it appears in his Theologico-Political Treatise, published in 1670. 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. Edited by Hannah Arendt. For I hold that God is of all things the cause immanent, as the phrase is, not transient. In responsibility, there is no. (Read more), Whats Actually Happening with Chemtrails? The best introduction to the subject in recent memory. 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. Thats where I live and there I express my love for you. Lastly, by maintaining that God is perfect and that the existence of sadness derives from ignorance, and not him/her, this essay hoped to argue effectively that Gods perfection is still justifiable, despite the realities of sadness. Moreover, God cannot be the cause of sadness since he/she cannot return any feelings that people project onto him/her, and thus, by being free of emotion, it would be illogical to claim that he/she can cause anyone pain. University of Central Florida. Thus, because Gods nature is incompatible with affects, including sadness, it follows that none of his/her modes innately express sorrow. That is, only God is an infinite substance, and since that renders all other things to be finite, nothing can cause him/her to change. 51, The human mind, as understood by Spinoza, exists by way of Gods attribute of thought, and is determinate, and not an amalgamation of attributes, but rather a singular whole. Dutch Jewish philosopher Benedict de Spinoza was best known for his Ethics (1677), which laid out in geometric form arguments for the existence of an impersonal God, the identity of mind and body, determinism, and a way of overcoming the dominance of the passions and achieving freedom and 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. In the Ethics though, Spinoza does away with the talk of propria and does not accord them really any status as such. Especially of interest to those new to these subjects. 103 To Spinoza, it is impossible for God to slip into a lesser degree of perfection, not only because he/she is permanently unchanging, but also because he/she is limitless, and thus, what affects his/her limited modes, cannot affect him/her. Early in The Ethics Spinoza argues that there is only one substance, which is absolutely infinite, self-caused, and eternal. Furthermore, because people can know the difference between adequate and inadequate ideas, it is the case that they can understand those ideas that increase their abilities to think, or not, and thus, what can affect their bodies to strive more ably, or not, to live. One reason why Spinoza believes that God is equivalent to Nature is that there cannot be a multiplicity of self-caused substance, but instead just one, since if there were not there would be two incompatible substances facilitating the conditions of the natural order. Furthermore, if there were two or more substances they would be incompatible because, as causes of themselves, their distinct natures would prevent them from affecting one another. 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. 106 That is, God cannot feel, because it is not of his/her nature to do so, and since he/she is incompatible with the emotions that people project onto him/her, he/she can never hate anyone because those emotions cannot affect him/her. Finally, he states that desires that have good effects increase the minds ability to think, and thus, the bodys ability to act, whereas evil ones diminish those abilities. The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. Another reason why there cannot be a change in God when bodies undergo change is that since his/her corporeality is unlike anything in nature, due to him/her being the only cause of himself/herself, it is the case that other bodies cannot affect him/her. And he gives us the historical context of Dutch Golden Age politics and culture, which usually allowed the tolerant cosmopolitanism of its merchant class to prevail over clerical indignation. 16321677 . Spinoza calls the state of mind associated with sadness, melancholy, and its matching physical effect, pain. Thus, if God were able to slip into lesser degrees of reality, or feel sadness, it follows that Nature would necessarily change since if he/she were to change, there would have to be a matching effect in the natural order since he/she is coherent and equivalent to it. Conclusion 30, Spinoza continues to enunciate that Gods modes are particular finite and determinate expressions of his/her nature. Jaspers, Karl. Afterward, there were demonstrations on how God cannot be the cause of sadness, and rather that sadness derives from peoples lack of knowledge of what has led them to feel saddened. Everything is determined, not by Gods willHe doesnt have onebut by our being, with everything else, an integral part of Gods being. When you see the shadow, it defines the light. Pantheistic mysticism? 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. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. 46 In other words, because all thinking things ultimately derive from God, it follows that he/she bears some relation to them, and since they express thought by thinking, it follows that God must possess that attribute since if he did not, then they would be unable to convey it. 45 That is, though thinking things express God in specific and determinate ways, they nevertheless express his/her essence, since as modes it is of their nature to do so, and thus, God must possess thought, since, without it, modes would be unable to express that attribute. 23 In other words, God cannot defy his/her nature because by being eternally active all existence ultimately depends on him/her, and since being can never truly fade into nothingness, it follows that God cannot change his/her ceaselessly active nature. 27 In other words, each attribute of God can only express one infinite and eternal aspect of him/her, and not many, because attributes are unable to affect one another since they do not rely on one another to exist. Feeling grateful? Furthermore, Spinoza continues to claim that like all other shapes, bodies retain the effects of what causes them to move or come to rest, and reflect those effects too. First, Spinoza states that those who believe in free will are mistaken in their belief that the body does not move unless the mind is active. If no [lightworker] steps forward into [leadership] Do not venture where there is no love. 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. A History of Western Philosophy. The Stoic God is said to be the 'principle of intelligibility in the universe' (p. 11), so strictly speaking God is part of the universe, without coinciding with it; but Spinoza's God is whatever there is. 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. 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? 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. I dont want you to believe in me. 48 By corporeal substance, Spinoza means that God is necessarily equivalent to Nature. 53 In other words, minds innately think, and thus, they must derive from Gods attribute of thought since without him/her they would be unable express his/her essence as a thinking thing. Throughout the history of philosophy, many theorists have attempted to explain the meaning and cause of peoples sorrows. 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. 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. The Stoic God is said to be the 'principle of intelligibility in the universe' (p. 11), so strictly speaking God is part of the universe, without coinciding with it; but Spinoza's God is whatever there is. Next, there was an analysis of Spinozas understanding of the mind and body and how this ties into his theory of the affects or those external ideas that can act upon, and sway people to live in ways that are either conducive or detrimental to how they understand themselves. Sign up now to get the Washington Examiners breaking news and timely commentary delivered right to your inbox. I will help you. 39, Spinoza continues his metaphysical investigation by claiming that thought is an attribute of God. My opinion concerning God differs widely from that which is ordinarily defended by modern Christians. 5. But I entrust this to you as well. Finally, Spinoza explains how it is unlike anything to come before 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. WebTherefore, Spinoza argues that the only substance is God (Ethics, II. WebAnswer (1 of 7): I have to endeavor an answer because I disagree (respectfully) with the other answers here. Because, if there is no love, then there is no truth. 7777 One way in which the reader can imagine this is if God were both the idea of a shape and the physical object of that shape itself. Man can, indeed, act contrarily to the decrees of God, as far as they have been written like laws in the minds of ourselves or the prophets, but against that eternal decree of God, which is written in universal nature, and has regard to the course of nature as a whole, he can do nothing. Im locked in. The rabbi cabled him in 1929 to ask him if he believed in God. 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. Introducing our newest editor, Ed Love, in Australia. What follows from Spinozas philosophical theology is that Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. According to Spinoza, people innately desire or have appetites for that which they find to be agreeable to who they understand themselves to be. Furthermore, inadequate ideas necessarily reside in God, like all other things, but they do not directly derive from him/her since those ideas are passive whereas he/she is immutably active. That eternal and infinite being we call God, or Nature [Deus sive Natura], acts from the same necessity from which he exists. Heres some of him. Creation, preservation, transformation = love building, love preserving, love dissolving = inbreath, pause, outbreath = rajas, sattwa, thamas (gunas) = Akar, Ukar, Makar (Aum) = Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva (Trimurthy). Furthermore, God is immutable since he/she is not a conglomeration of substances, but rather an indivisible whole. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) has long appealed to skeptics and secularists. by Yitzhak Y. Melamed. Popkin, Richard H., ed. Orlando, FL 32816-1352, [emailprotected] Building, anchoring, and restoring hope, trust and Love within the human community. WebSpinoza believed that everything that exists is God. As human beings do not know the causes of their behavior, they are deceived in thinking themselves free. Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. Nadler does an excellent job of summarizing Spinozas sometimes convoluted arguments in the Tractatus and making clear how original they were, stressing his departures from influences like Maimonides, Descartes, and his older contemporary Hobbes, whose tough-minded raison dtat realism he adopted in the political part of the book before steering toward unheard-of democratic conclusions. 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. Spinoza used the provocative formulation Deus sive naturaGod, or naturebut he actually regarded nature as just the visible, comprehensible aspect of Gods infinite, incomprehensible being. Asking God for one, asking that He suspend natural law for our benefit, is asking God to trip up God. Lastly, Spinoza comes to claim that though God ultimately causes all things, he/she is not the cause of sadness, which, in turn, maintains his/her perfection. For Spinoza God is not a person, and does not create for any reason or towards any purpose. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. 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. (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. The Great Philosophers: Spinoza. Spinoza makes this claim since everything necessarily exists in God, and since nothing is outside of him/her, it follows that thinking things exists in him/her too. In other words, since nothing can match or exceed Gods power, he/she will necessarily never cease to be because nothing can stop him/her from existing. 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. God is the Immanent Cause of all things, never truly transcendent from them. 82. That is, sadness disrupts peoples abilities to exist because it causes them to less aware of themselves. Philosophers that are significant to him and his studies are Parmenides, Plato, Plotinus, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, and Hegel. That is, there is a likeness between the immateriality of the mind and the intelligible features of the natural order, which Gods attribute of thought gives rise to, and since only things of the same kind are compatible, it follows that minds necessarily arise from that attribute due to them both being immaterial. 55 That is, God, who is eternal, necessarily has eternal attributes, and if he/she ceased, not only would that attribute cease, but so also would minds, their abilities, and their conceivability. Orlando, Florida, 32816 | 407.823.2000 31 In other words, because there can be only one infinite substance, all other things have to be finite since, as modes, they are not causes of themselves, but rather, in the end, derivatives of that one infinite substance. Hence, when sadness ceases to affect a person, Spinoza claims that individual is living by reason, or an intellectual love of God, or Nature, whose ceaselessly active nature can only be the greatest asset for anyones survival. 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. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. What is Spinozas mode? 16321677 . Im bored being praised. The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders. Spinoza concludes that because of this, God is only a partial cause of inadequate ideas whereas people, who can take in perceptions housed in him/her, are the other partial cause, and thus, they do not derive from people alone but can still act upon and influence them. 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. 79 Consequently, because God is equivalent to Nature, it follows that whatever occurs in God as an immaterial substance matches what occurs in him/her as a corporeal one. 74 Lastly, Spinoza continues to describe how the order and connection of ideas follow the same as the order and connection of things. WebSome of the greatest achievements of modern philosophy result from the attempt to reconcile the belief in human freedom with the eternal laws of Gods nature, and among 24, To Spinoza attributes of God or that which one can perceive as being of his/her nature, are eternal and infinite. 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