Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was a Dutch philosopher whose pantheistic philosophy influenced Arne Naess’s development of deep ecology. Writing in the 17th century, Spinoza proposed a monistic view of reality in which God and Nature are identified as one substance.
In his major work Ethics, completed in 1677, Spinoza uses the formula “Deus sive Natura” (God or Nature). He proposes that only one infinite substance exists, and that everything we experience is a mode or expression of this single reality. This view dissolves distinctions between the divine and the natural world.
Spinoza distinguished between natura naturans (nature naturing) and natura naturata (nature natured) - between nature as creative force and nature as the totality of created things. Both aspects are expressions of the one substance. He argued against the anthropocentric position that nature exists for human use, suggesting that humans are not “a kingdom within a kingdom” but are part of nature, subject to the same natural laws as other beings.
His understanding of emotions and reason relates to this natural order. Spinoza proposed that human emotions (affects) follow from our position as finite modes of nature. Understanding the causes of our emotions through reason allows us to see how we fit within the natural order. His ethical philosophy follows from this: the highest good, which he terms “blessedness,” comes from understanding one’s place within the whole - what he calls the intellectual love of God, or love of nature.
Excommunicated from Amsterdam’s Jewish community at age 23, Spinoza worked outside religious institutions. His Theological-Political Treatise (1670) was published anonymously and later banned. Ethics appeared posthumously in 1677. His work influenced European philosophers including Hegel and the Romantic poets.
Naess drew on Spinoza’s identification of self with the larger whole when developing the concept of the ecological self in deep ecology philosophy.
Key Concepts
- Deus sive Natura: God or Nature - the identification of divinity with the natural world as one substance
- Monism: The proposal that reality consists of one substance rather than separate realms of matter and spirit
- Natura naturans/Natura naturata: Nature as creative force and nature as created things
- Intellectual Love of God: Understanding the whole of nature, including oneself
- Conatus: Each thing’s striving to persist in its being
Essential Works
- “Ethics, Demonstrated in Geometrical Order” (completed 1677, published posthumously)
- “Theological-Political Treatise” (1670) - Published anonymously
- “On the Improvement of the Understanding” (posthumous) - Unfinished treatise
Selected Quotes
God and Nature are one and the same. — Ethics (1677)
Man is not situated in nature as a kingdom within a kingdom, but as a part of the whole. — Ethics (1677)
All things in nature proceed from certain necessity and with the utmost perfection. — Ethics (1677)
The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God. — Ethics (1677)
The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free. — Ethics (1677)
Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. — Theological-Political Treatise (1670)
All noble things are as difficult as they are rare. — Ethics (1677)
I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them. — Theological-Political Treatise (1670)
Further Reading
Biographical Sources
- Wikipedia: Baruch Spinoza - Comprehensive biography
- Nadler, Steven. Spinoza: A Life (Cambridge University Press, 1999) - ISBN 978-0-521-55210-3
- Gullan-Whur, Margaret. Within Reason: A Life of Spinoza (Jonathan Cape, 1998) - ISBN 978-0-224-05046-2
Key Books
- Ethics translated by Edwin Curley (Penguin Classics, 1996) - ISBN 978-0-14-043571-9
- A Spinoza Reader edited by Edwin Curley (Princeton University Press, 1994) - ISBN 978-0-691-00067-1
- Complete Works translated by Samuel Shirley (Hackett Publishing, 2002) - ISBN 978-0-87220-620-5
Articles and Papers
- Matheron, Alexandre. Individu et communauté chez Spinoza (Minuit, 1969)
- Bennett, Jonathan. A Study of Spinoza’s Ethics (Hackett, 1984) - ISBN 978-0-915144-86-2
- Deleuze, Gilles. Spinoza: Practical Philosophy (City Lights, 1988) - ISBN 978-0-87286-231-3
Related Resources
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Spinoza
- Spinoza House Museum, Rijnsburg, Netherlands