Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinozawas a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin. By laying the groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth24 November 1632
wisdom understanding intuition
The highest endeavor of the mind, and the highest virtue, it to understand things by intuition.
causes flow effects
Everything in nature is a cause from which there flows some effect.
mind emotion subjects
The mind has greater power over the emotions, and is less subject thereto, insofar as it understands all things to be necessary.
order words-of-wisdom pantheism
.... we are a part of nature as a whole, whose order we follow.
philosophical causes pantheism
God is the indwelling and not the transient cause of all things.
gratitude attitude two-sides
Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear. [They are the two sides of a coin, so learning how to manage fear through learning, understanding, rationality, controlled imagination, preparation, mental focus (including distraction) and a gratitude attitude is very helpful.]
philosophical passion emotion
I can control my passions and emotions if I can understand their nature
men desire wish
Men who are ruled by reason desire nothing for themselves which they would not wish for all mankind.
running ignorance way
[Believers] are but triflers who, when they cannot explain a thing, run back to the will of God; this is, truly, a ridiculous way of expressing ignorance.
believe circles triangles
I believe that a triangle, if it could speak, would say that God is eminently triangular, and a circle that the divine nature is eminently circular; and thus would every one ascribe his own attributes to God.
desire
Desire nothing for yourself, which you do not desire for others.
communication law evil
In the state of nature, wrong-doing is impossible; or, if anyone does wrong, it is to himself, not to another. For no one by the law of nature is bound to please another, unless he chooses, nor to hold anything to be good or evil, but what he himself, according to his own temperament, pronounces to be so; and, to speak generally, nothing is forbidden by the law of nature, except what is beyond everyone's power.
life believe return
If anyone conceives that he is loved by another, and believes that he has given no cause for such love, he will love that other in return.
blessed thinking weak
Blessed are the weak who think that they are good because they have no claws.