PHILOSOPHY - Baruch Spinoza

Spinoza tried to replace the bible with a scientifically-based ethical system. He succeeded in theory – but not in practice.

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[SeanTheDon]

Spinoza has helped me understand the importance of my unimportant life. When we wake up every morning, we sometimes ask ourselves, "why wake up, why not just stay in this comfortable bed?" Spinoza reminds us that our will is to pursue higher ambitions. He makes us all feel like gods though reminding us we are still men.
"The Highest Activity a Human being can attain is learning for un derstanding,
because to understand, is to be free" ~Spinoza

[blankpage]

"Spinoza failed to understand what leads people to religion isn't just reason but far more importantly, emotion, belief, fear, and tradition"
Anyone who has seriously read spinoza would never say this of him. Spinoza himself very well knows this aspect of human nature and thus says in his book, theologico political treatise

"MEN would never be superstitious if they could govern all their circumstances by set rules, or if they were always favored by fortune; but being frequently driven into straits where rules are useless, and being often kept fluctuating pitiably between hope and fear by the uncertainty of fortune’s greedily coveted favors, they are consequently, for the most part, very prone to credulity. The human mind is readily swerved this way or that in times of doubt, especially when hope and fear are struggling for the mastery; though usually it is boastful, over-confident, and vain."

He is quite pessimistic about "the multitude" and he thinks most people will not understand his works. To accuse him of the failure to recognise this is naivety at best and malice at worst.

[neiils]

Facts: Albert Eisntein did believe in the God of Spinoza.

[parimaludapurkar]

I've always said I'm an atheist. Today I realised I believed in Spinoza's God all along!

[JavierBonillaC]

I had two semesters of philosophy in college and Spinoza was by far my favorite. Everything seems reasonable; there are no unbelievable assumptions, everything proceeds with a sort of mathematical logic based on principles and maxims that are pretty solid.

[briankeeley]

I don't have a great way to communicate how grateful I am for having easily accessible and comprehended translations of the great work these past philosophers left behind through creators like yourself and others. Thank you.

[FRUXT]

Really good summary of my favorite, by far, philosopher. But It seems to paint a portrait of Spinoza who is really anti-religion. Spinoza was more against the dogma than the religion, as he said of Jesus Christ he was a great philosopher :)
He liked the message of Jesus, but not the interpretation done by the religious authority.

[Godlimate]

7:28 “Spinoza failed to understand — like so many philosophers before and since — that what leads people into religion isn’t just reason, but far more importantly, emotion, belief, fear and tradition”

WRONG! Read the preface of ‘theological-political treatise’. Spinoza DID understand this and argued that people are susceptible to fear which religion uses as a means to drive people towards hope. He understood this entirely which is why he criticised religion:

“It follows that superstition, like all other instances of hallucination and frenzy, is bound to assume very varied and unstable forms, and that, finally, it is sustained only by hope, hatred, anger and deceit. For it arises not from reason but from emotion, and emotion of the most powerful kind” ~Spinoza

[speelen]

After he was expelled from Amsterdam he lived in Rijnsburg near The Hague. My ancestors lived a stone throw away from Spinoza. Our village aswell as my ancestors stayed very strict reformed but we still maintain the house he lived in. I think this speaks volumes about his brilliant mind. They just fully restored it and turned it into a philosopical café where his work is discussed, so almost 400 years later his ideas are discussed on the grounds where he lived.

[EpiPanYo]

This channel changed my life. I felt certain emotions I never thought I would feel. For that I am eternally grateful.

[ulysses]

I had the same thought and never knew this guy nor his philosophy

[samiamehraj]

I ordered the book Ethics after watching this video. Totally worth it.

[demammoet]

Spinoza is not forgotten, far from it in The Netherlands.

[theresajaeger]

My goodness: Spinoza perfectly articulates what my belief in God is. I too am not an atheist, but do identify with the God many people believe in. Religions is a means of controlling society, especially in traditional countries. I'm currently studying to become a life coach where there is great emphasis on balancing the body, mind and spirit. While my neurodiverse mind was wandering yesterday, I was reminded of the Trinity: the Father (mind), the Son (body), and the Holy (Spirit). This indicated to me that the origins of Catholicism is based on the same belief. Spinoza rejected the need for of prayer; in a coaching workshop today, my ADHD mind made a connection between people's need to often pause in order to be fully focused, with prayer, for example, the Rosary . Pausing isn't an easy habit to remember to execute, but praying at specific times I believe is.

[betteronbrunettes]

Reading Spinoza thoroughly changed my outlook on life. Thank you School of Life for depicting his work so concisely and beautifully.

[Kievest]

Thank you for making the great philosophers and their
philosophies more accessible and enjoyable to the
average person. Because of your films, I have broadened
my education and horizons many years after graduating
from college. Educational and entertaining...Outstanding!!!

[Doctor-nkeu]

In a way, it almost sounds like Spinoza's idea of God is like the Force

[stephenpowstinger]

We read Spinoza in college humanities required course 1966. U of F. I took my education seriously then as now, not just a stepping stone. I stayed with philosophy but gave up on it as a major, due to practical considerations. I remember Spinoza fondly.

[teahrorist]

I was always curious as to what life is and who is god? and after failing to get any answers from my elders, I started reading about different religions.
What captivated me the most was Hinduism, especially when I read about what scientists and physicists had said about Geeta and Hinduism.
What Spinoza is saying is the essence of Hinduism with all the good things that come with religion. I think I'm on a right path.

[miguelbyrd]

Love thinkers like Spinoza...changes my life every time I get to another layer in reason