introduction of the philosopher Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza (November 24, 1632 (the year of Renshen) ~ February 21, 1677) was trained in Latin, and it was with Latin that Spinoza was able to get in touch with the works of Descartes and others. He gradually broke away from the so-called orthodox doctrine and was finally expelled from the synagogue at the age of 24. He finally moved out of the Jewish community, grinding glasses for a living and thinking philosophically at the same time. Spinoza has been living in seclusion ever since. In 1673, the elector of Prussia invited him to be a professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, provided that religion was not mentioned, but Spinoza declined. He died at the age of 45.
Philosopher Spinoza's Philosophical Thought
Philosophically, Spinoza is a monist or pantheist. He believes that there is only one entity in the universe, that is, the universe itself as a whole, and God and the universe are the same thing. His conclusion is based on a set of definitions and axioms, and is obtained by logical reasoning. Spinoza's God includes not only the material world, but also the spiritual world. He believes that human wisdom is an integral part of God's wisdom. Spinoza also believes that God is the "internal cause" of everything, and God dominates the world through the laws of nature, so everything that happens in the material world has its inevitability; Only God has complete freedom in the world, and although people can try to get rid of external constraints, they can never get free will. If we can see things as inevitable, then the easier it is for us to be one with God. Therefore, Spinoza suggested that we should look at things "under the eternal phase".
In ethics, Spinoza believes that as long as a person is subject to external influence, he is in a state of slavery, and as long as he reaches an agreement with God, people will no longer be subject to this influence, but will gain relative freedom and get rid of fear. Spinoza also argues that ignorance is the root of all evil. On the question of death, Spinoza's famous saying is: "A free man thinks of death at least, and his wisdom is not a meditation on death, but a meditation on life." He has thoroughly practiced this maxim throughout his life and has always been very calm in the face of death.
Spinoza is a thorough determinist. He thinks that all the things that have happened are absolutely inevitable. He believes that even human behavior is completely determined, and freedom means that we have the ability to know that we have been decided and why we do it. So freedom is not the possibility of saying "no" to what happens to us, but the possibility of saying "yes" and understanding why things have to happen like that.
Spinoza's philosophy is very similar to Stoic's philosophy, but he is sharply different from Stoic's philosophy in one important point: he totally opposes their view that motivation can overcome emotion. On the contrary, he argues that emotion will only be replaced or overcome by another stronger emotion. He believes that there is a key difference between active emotion and passive emotion, the former is relatively understandable and the latter is not. He also believes that knowledge with real motivation of passive emotion can transform it into active emotion, so he foresees Sigmund? A key idea of Freud's psychoanalysis. The significance of Spinoza's philosophical system to the scientific movement in the 17th century lies in its deterministic interpretation, which provides a blueprint for scientific integration. He influenced later philosophers, such as Schelling, Marx, Einstein, Schelling, Feuerbach and others.
Social evaluation of philosopher Spinoza
In terms of temperament, Spinoza is the noblest and gentlest philosopher. Some people may surpass him in talent, but absolutely no one can surpass him in morality.
in his time? Even after his death, he was regarded as a terrible person.
His experience is simple and ordinary. In the early years, the Spinoza family moved from Spain (Portugal) to the Netherlands in order to avoid persecution by heresy courts. Because of his disregard for money and simple material life, only a few people know him, but even those who disagree with his philosophical views support him. At the age of 45, Spinoza died of tuberculosis.
Spinoza is very interested in science, but he is most concerned about religious and moral issues.
As a Jew, he was expelled from Judaism. _ _ is also anathema to him; The concept of "God" is full of his philosophical thoughts, but orthodox believers accuse him of being an atheist.
He accepted a set of materialism and determinism physics from Descartes' time, and based on this, he tried to find a shelter for his pious mind and his life devoted to "goodness". This magnificent move has been affirmed and admired by almost everyone. Spinoza also inherited the metaphysical system created by parmenides, and thought that there was only one entity, "God is nature", and nothing else could exist independently. In addition to the omnipotent relationship with God, the spirit and matter limited by thinking and extensibility can also exist independently. In Spinoza's view, God is infinite everywhere, and thinking and extensibility are also attributes of God.
Spinoza regards time as an unreal thing. In his determinism, he explains that it is because we are ignorant that we think we can change the future. In fact, what should happen will happen, and the future is as unchangeable as the past. Hope and fear arise from lack of wisdom.
In addition, Spinoza also opposes excessive enthusiasm and thinks that God is not moved by any emotion, because everything is a part of God, and there is no contradiction between "God will not love anyone" and "God only loves himself". It is easy for God to only love himself, not to mention that it is a very special kind of love to express love with reason.
In addition to saying what should be said, Spinoza can also say some surprising things.
in his view, all evil stems from ignorance. He suggested that the evil should be analyzed in connection with the causes and regarded as a part of natural forces, so that the evil can be understood. He also said that even if you encounter a great disaster, don't let yourself wander alone in the sad world.
If you look at a disaster according to its essence and treat it as a causal link that starts at the beginning of time and ends at the end of time, you will find that this disaster is not aimed at the whole universe, but only at you. For the universe, this disaster is just a temporary noise to strengthen the final harmony.
Generally speaking, Spinoza's philosophical theory is a mixture of Hobbes' political theory. Maybe these thoughts can't develop into religious beliefs, but in this miserable world, they are also a boost to wake us up and a good medicine to cure despair and apathy.
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