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Baruch Spinoza's Substance Monism Analysis

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Baruch Spinoza’s geometric structured view of the universe, and everything in general, is beautifully broken down for present and future thinkers to ponder in his work, Ethics. Although complex at times, his method of demonstrating each discovery of proven proposition aids readers to conceptual God-Nature. At the base of these propositions are the definitions and axioms (truths) Spinoza accounts as certain truths and are critical to understanding God-Nature (substance). I will here provide an account of Spinoza’s substance monism and attribute pluralism, along with strengths and weaknesses in his arguments for this picture of reality. This essay will argue that Spinoza’s claims are successfully supported in a manner that effectively utilizes …show more content…

Substance dualism is a particular philosophy which Descartes takes a stance on. Descartes argues that two substances (mind and body) exist separately and it is evident from great distinction between the two (Descartes: Meditation 2). Spinoza agrees mind and body are different, but not to the extent that they are two separate substances (Def. 3). He explains that if mind and body were two existing substances, they would be so different that they could not interact (Prop.2). This interaction of thought to body or vice versa couldn't exist since no common ground resides. But may believe even Descartes isn’t exactly clear on the inner working of the relationship (Robinson, Howard). Spinoza’s substance monism cleverly dissolves this issue by labeling mind (thought) and body (extension) as attributes to a common and singular substance. Other substance pluralist philosophies are denied when we truly capture the infinite extent of …show more content…

Arguing his terms and ideas as unclear and vague will prove this theory weak in the sense that Spinoza isn’t entirely confident on what substance and the other elements are. By being general, Spinoza leaves room for ‘error’ and this can be considered cowardice. Empiricist John Locke targets this reliance of innate ideas as one that rationalist, like Spinoza when using to explain substance. In his work, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke agrees all the universe is dependent on this idea of substance; substance which comes from the latin of Substantia, which means ‘one which is relied upon’. But the rationalist's claim to know this, substance, without explanation of its workings is a flaw Locke argues lies at rationalistic thought. Indeed, substance helps hold the universe together and is an unavoidable idea which we can’t do without, but to say we innately know the complex mysteries of substance cohesion (including attribute, mode, etc.) isn’t justifiable according to

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In analyzing great Philosophical literature, few works are as famous as Plato's Apology and Allegory of the Cave. Although lesser known to the uninitiated to the world of Philosophy, but certainly no less famous or important, is Voltaire's Good Brahman. At first glance, each of these works appears quite different and only have the commonality of being older Philosophy texts. However, upon closer examination we find that they have more in common, despite their less obvious differences. In the following paragraphs, we will seek to explain each work individually and then compare and contrast both Philosopher's works.

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In the Age of Enlightenment, scientific knowledge of our immediate nature became a central concern of natural sciences, introducing Cartesian dualism into the modern thought. However, while esoteric thinkers and theosophers stayed true to the Gnostic principle of liberation from ignorance, and thus viewed science favourably, they also insisted on a relationship between matter and the invisible―a system incompatible with modern rationality. This esoteric reasoning is depicted in Rosicrucian Chemical Wedding and its symbolic imagery, in Emmanuel Swedenborg 's conception of matter, comprised of the divine essence, or Franz Mesmer 's animal magnetism. This link between observable phenomena and esoteric sensibility was crucial for speculative natural

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Scrutinizing the most fundamental blocks of Spinoza’s monism In this paper, I will outline Spinoza’s first five propositions which are essential for the legitimacy of his later arguments for monism. Then I will scrutinize his definitions of the most fundamental building blocks of his argument (substance, attributes, and modes) and various axioms he offers in order to further inspect these propositions and hence evaluate their validity. First, it is crucial to define these most fundamental building blocks according to Spinoza.

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In the sixth meditation, Descartes postulates that there exists a fundamental difference in the natures of both mind and body which necessitates that they be considered as separate and distinct entities, rather than one stemming from the other or vice versa. This essay will endeavour to provide a critical objection to Descartes’ conception of the nature of mind and body and will then further commit to elucidating a suitably Cartesian-esque response to the same objection. (Descartes,1641) In the sixth meditation Descartes approaches this point of dualism between mind and matter, which would become a famous axiom in his body of philosophical work, in numerous ways. To wit Descartes postulates that he has clear and distinct perceptions of both

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