Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677)
Life
Baruch or Benedict de
Spinoza, one of the greatest Dutch philosophers of his time, was born on
november 24th, 1632 Amsterdam. He died on february 21th, 1677 's-Gravenhage. He
grew up in a Jewish environment. Not yet 24 years old, Spinoza rejected
traditional interpretations of Scripture and thus deviated from Jewish
orthodoxy. In 1656 he was expelled from the synagogue at Amsterdam on charges
of heretical thought and practice, after which he Latinized his name to Benedict.
He left Amsterdam and went to Rijnsburg, Voorburg and The Hague. In Rijnsburg
one can still visit his house, now better known as the Spinozahuis-museum. During his lifetime Spinoza
was a controversial figure, largely because his philosophical pantheism was not
widely appreciated in either Jewish or Christian religious circles. His
influence then and immediately after his death is not always easy to pinpoint.
Although he left no school of disciples, his works were read by Leibniz and
others. His popularity increased in the 18th and 19th centuries when he
influenced such diverse persons as the French Encyclopedists, Goethe,
Coleridge, and even Hegel. Today the depth and rigor of his thought is widely
recognized.
Works
Renati Des Cartes
principiorum philosophiae pars I&II / Cogitata Metaphysica
(1663), translated in 1664 by Spinoza's friend Pieter Balling. / Tractatus
Theologico-Politicus (1670) / In 1677 the Ethica ordine geometrico
demonstrata was published as a part of the Opera Posthuma, including
three unfinished works (Tractatus politicus, Tractatus de intellectus
emendatione, Compendium grammatices linguae Hebraeae) and 75
letters. For an English version of the Ethics: The Ethics, translated from Latin by
R.H.M.Elwes (1883). There is also a logical index for the Ethics which can be
very useful for research. A Latin version of the Ethics by Rudolf W. Meijer exists also.
Spinoza Events (Updated (08/04/2004)
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