Why the Most Hated Philosopher Is Right

This philosopher, often reviled in his time, presents a philosophy that is both radical and enlightening. In this video, we explore Benedict 'Baruch' Spinoza's key ideas, including substance monism, determinism, and his unique approach to ethics. Discover how Spinoza's logical and systematic method, reminiscent of a geometry textbook, builds from simple definitions to profound conclusions. Learn why his belief in the unity of God and Nature, along with his emphasis on rational understanding, can help us achieve a good life.

#Spinoza #Philosophy #Ethics #Determinism #Rationality #GodorNature #SubstanceMonism

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[edwardhanson]

People who talk about Spinoza usually overlook that the temple that excommunicated him didn't know the process, and Spinoza had to teach them how to do an excommunication. Quite ironic.

[paulroyal]

I had to read Spinoza over 30 years ago. I recall he actually did not support "pantheism", but "panentheism" -- The latter referring to the idea that the entire universe is made up of an elementary "god-stuff", but there is more god-stuff outside this universe. And that extra stuff is capable of thinking and observing the universe. [By analogy, this "improved pantheism" is kind of like saying that God took his leg and turned it into the universe.]... If I recall correctly, in his theories of Philosophical Aesthetics Spinoza also said, "Beauty is food for the soul", so he still had his duality... Spinoza also said that when we learn to interpret art, we gain an understanding of the art and the artist's intentions and beliefs. And so when we look at the universe (that is made of god-stuff), we gain the insight of the "universe artist" that is God. Some of these insights may be the interpretation of my professor... Also, the "Free Will"/"Determinism" debate insists that these positions are opposite and incompatible. (The determinists say that free will is a self-delusion, and we don't make decisions, any more than grass bends to wind.) The way Spinoza's Determinism is presented here is simply the insistence that the universe is consistent, like a giant machine put in motion, and cause and effect continue to operate over time.

[MikeWiest]

Excellent, thank you! Bruno’s Cause, Principle and Unity is a deep precursor to Spinoza’s Ethics—it’s readable and FUNNY. 👍

[DrElanK]

I love all the banter here - even the uncomplimentary bits! Look for a follow-up video that addresses some of these comments soon. I'll be leaving the Spinoza dating advice alone, however. You guys seem to have that one covered!

[EarnestApostate]

I don't know if we can call him the most hated as he wasn't forced to drink hemlock. That said, what I have seen of his work I have found pretty plausible. I have heard some suggest that Substance (god or nature) is energy, which could be.

[paulpierlott]

I’ve watched several other professors tutorials on Spinoza. Yours so far is the best.
Now, please don’t take offense; you see, I am a 79 year old retired photographer. Can’t help but see through an artist/photographer’s eyes. I’ve noticed in a lot of these tutorial videos the speaker is at their desk looking down at, I assume, their computer/ laptop. This results in the viewer seeing you from a lower angle. All camera lenses have some distortion, thus the chin and nose are more pronounced. If you could place the laptop/computer on a box/stack of books so your camera lens sees you from an angle just a small bite above your eyes this old photog would be very happy. BTW, the angle I’m describing is a traditional portrait angle. Something called Rembrandt lighting would even more improve the your attractiveness.

[micheldisclafani]

At 86 my answer to the great mind and philosophy of Spinoza is contained in a little poem that I composed some fifty years ago. It goes like this : ETERNITY. I was the sky and I was the sea. I was the wind and I was the tree. This is how I know that I was, that I am and that when I die, through the quantic atoms of my body I will be born in thousand of different bodies, on earth and in the universe. *** Religions and sacred books are all creation of man. Nobody ever saw or herd God. To explain God is foolish and childish. Reality for us and everything is to be born, to live and die. To be reborn in different forms, sometimes even human.

[lgude]

I went to Columbia in 1960 and there was a large cohort of Jewish students. They, like me, were born in 1942 so all these young men were strongly affected by the Holocaust and most had grown up in intensely intellectual families. I had too, but in my family the main topic of conversation was the economist John Maynard Keynes. As we worked our way through the great thinkers from Plato on there were two who stood out for my Jewish classmates: Spinoza and Marx. After attending lectures on those two I noticed a group of student about 25 strong with everyone talking at once and creating buzz of intense conversation. I remember thinking that I knew who their families talked about over dinner in their homes. I’ve been fond of Spinoza ever since knowing he still caused such intense interest. Marx not so much.

[dinotopher]

That's a great intro to Spinoza. Spinoza shows that personal happiness cannot occur without boundaries. Just as freedom cannot be realized without responsibilities. In many ways hes a practical philosopher, similar to stoicism. He's also the anti relativist / existentialist which are academic philosophies and not meant to be applied to real life.

[AKA_SimplyHuman]

Spinoza’s universe is most logical, reasonable and closest to what we actually observe or experience. How else could it be? It’s natural, it’s real, it lives.

[MikeWiest]

I think Spinoza’s might be the most impeccable analysis of the mind-body relation. But it does leave puzzles for us to figure out based on deeper knowledge of the brain—which he says is necessary in the Ethics.

[time]

Interesting info, thanks. I find myself essentially in agreement with Spinoza though some things are hard to know. My view is there is a deterministic component to existence ('natural law') and a random component ('free-will'). I think natural law is there for our own benefit, as this all pervading God/nature thing is us. There is likely a specific purpose and destination to our evolution, so in a sense this is like the dominoes falling towards this destination. But there is a lot of room for variety of experience and randomness, because part of the purpose of existence is this God/Nature aspect experiencing itself, and learning through us. I don't think everything is pre-determined, which aligns with what you are saying. If you stop checking your emails at 7pm, and end up sleeping better as a result, this will likely effect a multitude of other events and people in your life, and will not just be isolated to your subjective experience.

[mieliav]

the jewish community of the time were refugees in holland. they excommunicated spinoza so as not to antagonize the dutch protestant authorities, wh/ could have led to problems for continued tolerance.
good presentation, thanks.

[Dionysos]

"When community leaders discuss community interests behind closed doors, you can be sure they are not discussing what is in the community's interest" (Spinoza). No wonder they hated him!

[runyon]

Yeah. He's underrated. Also easy to understand and follow. God and Nature are One, duh. But in his day, this was heresy. He was right then, and right now.

[scotthullinger]

Particular philosophers are not hated because they reveal truth, but only because they deny countless truths, and do so rather vehemently.

[MikeWiest]

His consistency with contemporary physics is not obvious given the essentially indeterministic component of local quantum physics. However, I think this local indeterminacy is consistent with a global/eternal necessity. So I think you’re right that Spinoza is right, and Einstein (who professed “Spinoza’s God”) was right when he said “God does not play dice.”

[melroycorrea]

But how can deliberating over what food causes sluggishness and then making a conscious choice of avoiding healthier food be a result of deterministic worldview. In fact, if the deterministic worldview is absolutely correct, there should be no possibility of course correction. One act should logically lead to another act of the same species, like the way it happens with animals, who will act in the same way, until a substantial change is introduced in the environment, which will force the animal either to adapt or perish. But in the case of humans we say that he can choose otherwise, and even exert an influence over his environment.

[ChristopherBrown-jv]

This content is great but the audio makes it difficult.

[marshallmkerr]

It is worth noting that Spinoza's pantheism also resembles a fundamental tenet of 1st c. BCE Advaita Vedanta Hinduism. The vulgar idea that Hindus worship a bewildering variety of gods ignores the fact that all those deities are understood to be themselves merely contingent and temporal manifestations of ultimate reality: the Omnipresent Omniscience they call Brahman. As Katha Upanishad insists: "Brahman alone is - nothing else is." Kaivalya Upanishad affirms: "By seeing the Self in all beings, and all beings in the Self, one goes to Brahman. That is the only way." The Bhagavad-Gita claims Sri Krsna Himself observed: "True knowledge is to see one changeless life in all the lives and in the Separate, One Inseparable."

All that said, E=mc² elegantly expresses the idea that all observable material reality in the universe is nothing but energy constrained by natural law.