Baruch Spinoza

aliases

Benedito de Espinosa

A Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin. By laying the groundwork for the 18th-century 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. Along with René Descartes, Spinoza was a leading philosophical figure of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza's given name, which means "Blessed", varies among different languages. In Hebrew, it is written ברוך שפינוזה. His Portuguese name is Benedito "Bento" de Espinosa. In his Latin works, he used Latin: Benedictus de Spinoza.

Spinoza's magnum opus, Ethics, was published posthumously in 1677. The work opposed Descartes' philosophy on mind–body dualism, and earned Spinoza 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 d…more

[close] A Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin. By laying the groundwork for the 18th-century 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. Along with René Descartes, Spinoza was a leading philosophical figure of the Dutch Golden Age. Spinoza's given name, which means "Blessed", varies among different languages. In Hebrew, it is written ברוך שפינוזה. His Portuguese name is Benedito "Bento" de Espinosa. In his Latin works, he used Latin: Benedictus de Spinoza.

Spinoza's magnum opus, Ethics, was published posthumously in 1677. The work opposed Descartes' philosophy on mind–body dualism, and earned Spinoza 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". Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said, "You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all." His philosophical accomplishments and moral character prompted philosopher Gilles Deleuze to name him "the 'prince' of philosophers."

Spinoza was raised in a Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam. He developed highly-controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine. Jewish religious authorities issued a herem (חרם) against him, causing him to be effectively shunned by Jewish society at age 23. His books were also later put on the Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden Books.

Spinoza lived an outwardly-simple life as a lens grinder, turning down rewards and honours throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions. He died at the age of 44 allegedly of a lung illness, perhaps tuberculosis or silicosis exacerbated by the inhalation of fine glass dust while grinding optical lenses. He is buried in the churchyard of the Christian Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague.

edit descriptions of this character

Baruch Spinoza's photo gallery

No photos have been uploaded yet.

Books with Baruch Spinoza

	Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder 3.97 avg rating — 283,054 ratings — published 1991 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens 3.96 avg rating — 112,888 ratings — published 2007 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love, Poverty, and War: Journeys and Essays by Christopher Hitchens 4.11 avg rating — 1,970 ratings — published 2004 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction by Roger Scruton 3.65 avg rating — 864 ratings — published 1986 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spinoza: A Life by Steven Nadler 4.16 avg rating — 473 ratings — published 1999 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prepared for the Worst: Selected Essays and Minority Reports by Christopher Hitchens 3.97 avg rating — 215 ratings — published 1988 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Introducing Bertrand Russell by Dave Robinson 3.79 avg rating — 188 ratings — published 1998 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Other Side of the Judeo-Christian History by Anton Sammut (Goodreads Author) 4.85 avg rating — 61 ratings — published 2011 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Consciousness: The Concept of Mind and the Transcendence of Conventional Thought by Anton Sammut (Goodreads Author) 4.77 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 2016 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	اسپینوزا فلسفه، الهیات و سیاست by Karl Jaspers 3.79 avg rating — 53 ratings — published 1974 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars