Baruch Spinoza

atheism

Christianity

metaphysics

monotheism

pantheism

morality

Friedrich Nietzsche

is a thinker possessed of the northern hunger for truth rather than the southern lust for beauty.

But Spinoza had but one compelling desire—to reduce the intolerable chaos of the world to unity and order. He had the northern hunger for truth rather than the southern lust for beauty;

Spinoza's ethics flows from his metaphysics: just as reason there lay in the perception of law in the chaotic flux of things, so here it lies in the establishment of law in the chaotic flux of desires; there it lay in seeing, here it lies in acting, sub specie eternitatis —under the form of eternity; in making perception and action fit the eternal perspective of the whole.

's faith in reason begot a magnificent structure of geometry and logic in which the universe was a mathematical system, and could be described a priori, by pure deduction from accepted axioms.

In Spinoza this faith in reason had begotten a magnificent structure of geometry and logic: the universe was a mathematical system, and could be described a priori, by pure deduction from accepted axioms.

's philosophy is basically this — that God and the processes of nature are one.

Here enters the basic idea of Spinoza's philosophy—that God and the processes of nature are one.)

's system has three pivotal terms: substance, attribute, and mode.

There are three pivotal terms in Spinoza's system: substance, attribute, and mode. Attribute we put aside temporarily, for simplicity's sake.

's system is based on a very fundamental distinction between the "temporal order"—the "world" of things and incidents—and the "eternal order"—the world of laws and structure.

Hence Spinoza's very fundamental distinction (the basis of his entire system) between the "temporal order"—the "world" of things and incidents—and the "eternal order"—the world of laws and structure. Let us study this distinction carefully:

is a thinker with but one compelling desire—to reduce the intolerable chaos of the world to unity and order.

Baruch Spinoza, n.All

Baruch Spinoza