The Spinoza Problem

by Irvin D. Yalom

“First, Franco, I use the term ‘Nature’ in a special way. I don’t mean the trees or forests or grass or ocean or anything that is not manmade. I mean everything that exists: the absolute necessary, perfect unity. By ‘Nature’ I refer to that which is infinite, unified, perfect, rational, and logical. It is the immanent cause of all things. And everything that exists, without exception, works according to the laws of Nature. So when I talk about love of Nature, I don’t mean the love you have for your wife or child. I’m talking about a different kind of love, an intellectual love. In Latin I refer to it as Amor dei intellectualis.” “An intellectual love of God?” “Yes, the love of the fullest possible understanding of Nature, or God. The apprehension of the place of each finite thing in its relationship to finite causes. It is the understanding, in so far as it is possible, of the universal laws of Nature.” “So when you speak of loving God, what you mean is the understanding of the laws of Nature.” “Yes, the laws of Nature are only another, more rational name for the eternal decrees of God.”