Douglas Stones

Baruch Spinoza - Metaphysical Thoughts Douglas Stones

Baruch Spinoza (also called Espinosa or Spinoza) was a Dutch rationalist philosopher, one of the most important of modern philosophy. Besides his radical religious rationalism, Spinoza also defended political liberalism. Baruch Spinoza (or Benedito Espinoza), born in Amsterdam on November 24, 1632, was a descendant of Jews of Portuguese origin. His father, a successful merchant named Michael, tried to get his son to occupy the same position in the trade, but from an early age Spinoza showed great interest in studies. He has deepened his research in the fields of theology, languages, philosophy and politics. However, his ideas, which were considered atheistic, led Spinoza to be excommunicated on July 27, 1656 by the Jewish community of Amsterdam, of which he was a member. In view of this, he chose to leave Amsterdam and live in several places in the Netherlands: Rijnsburg, Voorburg, The Hague, Leyden and Utrecht. Excluded from the Jewish community and living elsewhere, Spinoza had to earn money, which led him to work in commerce and painting and to teach drawing for some time. Although Spinoza was chosen to be a professor at Heidelberg University, he preferred to study and write about his theories and thoughts. He died in The Hague at the age of 44, on February 21, 1677, victim of tuberculosis. Spinoza's most important worksPrinciples of Descartes' philosophy (1663) Theological-Political Treaty (1670) Intellect Correction Treaty (1677) Ethics (1677)