Baruch Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza also known as Benedict Spinoza (24 November 1632 in Amsterdam – 21 February 1677 in The Hague) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. He is considered to be one of the great Rationalist philosophers of the 17th century. Other famous rationalists include Gottfried Leibniz and René Descartes.

 Life 

Spinoza's ideas were not cherished by the Jewish community in Amsterdam of the time, and Spinoza was excommunicated in 1656.

 Key ideas 

An important idea in Spinoza's philosophy is that God and Nature (meaning everything that exists) are the same thing. Opposing dualism and free will as a determinist, Spinoza said that the body and the mind (soul) are two of God's infinite attributes. 

There is no good or evil in Nature, and that these words only have meanings for human beings. For a person, an event that leads to happiness is good, and an event that leads to suffering is bad. 

Spinoza describes two types of thoughts, or emotions:

 When a person acts from his own nature, he is said to be Active. The more you understand your actions, the more active you become. Active emotions lead to happiness and an understanding of God, as well as to Freedom. 
 When a person is being influenced by another person, or a thing, he is said to be Passive. 

The goal of every person is to intellectually love God (that is, understand Nature as much as humanly possible).

 References 
 Jewish Encyclopedia

Category:1632 births
Category:1677 deaths
Category:17th-century philosophers
Category:Dutch Jews
Category:Dutch philosophers
Category:Jewish philosophers
Category:Writers from Amsterdam
Category:Portuguese Jews
Category:Dutch people of Portuguese-Jewish descent