Baruch Spinoza is the philosopher behind Spinozism. Spinoza is known as a modern philosopher because of his significant contribution to modern philosophy, building on the works of other philosophers. He is known as a rational thinker because of his work on Bible criticism as well as enlightenment. The philosopher’s success is attributed to his criticism of Descartes’ work on mind-body dualism. Born a Jew, Spinoza was banished from his community because of his controversial criticisms of the Hebrew Bible. The following is an analysis of Spinoza’s philosophical ideology which focuses on his contribution to modern philosophy, the criticisms of Cartesianism, and the development of his work under the influence of fellow modern philosopher Rene Descartes.
Spinoza’s philosophy mainly addresses metaphysics as an element of modern theory. He seeks to answer the question of the human being, his reality, and identity. The foundations of metaphysics were laid by Descartes, the source of Spinoza's inspiration (Melchert, 2014) . Descartes’ metaphysics was an advancement of Aristotle’s view, which he used to develop the context of dualism. However, the association of duality with religious violence caused Spinoza to move away from Descartes philosophy and establish his own. Spinozism is founded on the principles of ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. His work on ethics challenges the traditional perceptions of God, the universe, and the human being. These ideologies have been used in theology and other fields of study.
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Various viewpoints are forming the significant elements of the thoughts of Spinoza. One is the perception of the human being and his view of God. According to Spinoza, God is an abstract and impersonal form, through whose intellectual guidance human beings receive happiness. God and nature are one, and all things are derived from Him. The knowledge of God is so excellent that it strengthens the mind to endure whatever circumstance of being (Astore, 2016) . The other element is the freedom from passions, otherwise referred to as knowledge. Man’s free will relies on experience, which also defines the power of the mind. The reason is another element driving Spinoza’s philosophy. In his views, Spinoza believes that a man’s freedom and life is guided by reason rather than knowledge.
Furthermore, Spinoza distances himself from Cartesianism due to its philosophical and cultural consequences. Cartesianism advances dualism of the mind and the matter by proclaiming that the two cannot exist as one. Cartesianism also promotes that God is infinite while a man is finite, hence human intellect is dependent on God’s knowledge (Astore, 2016) . God is also seen as the controller of expertise who can change truths into falsehoods and vice versa. Spinoza criticizes mind-body dualism through the view that all things existing in nature are one reality, which is why humans can coordinate. He also moves away from the idea of Cartesianism and adopts classical pantheism, whereby he believes in the existence of God as an abstract form. However, he also assumes the view that God is the source of all knowledge by viewing Him as the highest good (Astore, 2016) . The experience of God is availed freely to all and anyone can access it without getting harmed.
Spinoza is known as a modern philosopher. The features of contemporary philosophy include rationalism, individualism, and universalism. Spinoza contributes to the culture of modernism by promoting reasoning. Logic states that thinking is based on reason, and Spinoza urges the use of reason to achieve free- will (Astore, 2016) . He also contributes to universalism, which is an ideology that states that nature is the same everywhere. Spinoza believes that everything exists in life, forming the reality.
In conclusion, Spinoza is a modern philosopher whose philosophy of Spinozism has been adopted by many scholars and other contemporary philosophers. His view of God as nature and the insistence on reason pushes a man to achieve freedom. He also advocates for knowledge to give the mind power as well as the privilege.
References
Astore, R. (2016). Examining Free-Will through Spinoza and Descartes. Inquiries Journal , 8 (2).
Melchert, N. (2014). The Great Conversation: Volume II: Descartes through Derrida and Quine (7th Ed.). Oxford University Press.
