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— CH. 1 · CHILDHOOD ON THE VLOOIENBURG —

Baruch Spinoza

~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
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  • On the 24th of November 1632, a boy named Baruch Espinoza was born into a house on the Houtgracht canal. This street sat on an artificial island called the Vlooienburg in Amsterdam. His father Michael ran a successful import business that reached across Europe. The family lived near the Bet Ya'acov synagogue where young Baruch received his early education. He learned Hebrew and studied sacred texts under the guidance of Rabbi Saul Levi Morteira. His mother Hannah Deborah died when he was only six years old. A third wife named Esther then raised him from age nine until her death. She spoke Portuguese at home and lacked formal Jewish knowledge because she had grown up as a New Christian. The household dynamics shifted constantly after his brother Isaac died in 1649. Baruch became responsible for the family business while his scholarly ambitions were pushed aside.

  • On the 27th of July 1656, community leaders issued a writ of herem against the twenty-three-year-old Spinoza. This document described his actions as abominable heresies and monstrous deeds without stating specific reasons. The censure carried tremendous emotional impact and remained unrescinded forever. Before this expulsion, Spinoza had not published any treatise or written work. The exact cause remains unknown but likely involved his growing criticism of Judaism. He appealed to city authorities to free himself from debts owed by his late father. This legal maneuver violated synagogue regulations that required internal arbitration of business disputes. His reputation as a merchant suffered permanent damage following these events. The Amsterdam municipal authorities did not directly intervene yet ordered the community to maintain strict observance of Jewish law. Other evidence suggests officials feared upsetting civil authorities if religious matters were discussed openly with Christians. Spinoza found lodgings elsewhere in Amsterdam and Leiden between 1656 and 1661. He supported himself through teaching while learning lens grinding techniques.

  • Sometime between 1654 and 1657, Spinoza began studying Latin under Franciscus van den Enden. This former Jesuit and self-described atheist introduced him to scholastic philosophy and modern thinkers like René Descartes. While boarding with Van den Enden, Spinoza attended classes where he learned arts and sciences. Many friends belonged to dissident Christian groups such as the Collegiants who rejected established church authority. Jonathan Israel conjectures that Jan Hendriksz Glazemaker may have also influenced Spinoza's early thinking about Cartesian philosophy. From 1656 to 1661, discussion partners included Jarig Jelles, Lodewijk Meyer, Johannes Bouwmeester, and Adriaan Koerbagh. These individuals formed a circle that scrutinized drafts of his Ethics before publication. Their public reputation in Amsterdam was negative with Ole Borch calling them atheists. Throughout his life, Spinoza avoided intellectual battles viewing them as energy waste serving no real purpose. He audited classes at Leiden University around 1658 focusing on Cartesian philosophy. The group served primarily as a testing ground for extending challenges to the status quo.

  • Between 1660 and 1661, Spinoza moved from Amsterdam to Rijnsburg seeking quiet country retreats near Leiden. There he produced lenses and instruments to support himself while pursuing scientific interests. Around this time he wrote the Short Treatise on God, Man, and His Well-Being which remained unpublished during his lifetime. He feared theologians would enrage if they read it. The work survived only through Dutch translation until Johannes van Vloten published it in 1862. In 1663, Spinoza completed Descartes' Principles of Philosophy within two weeks. This text became one of only two works published under his name while alive. He led a modest frugal lifestyle earning income by polishing lenses and crafting telescopes. Friends contributed generously to support him financially. Before publishing the Theological-Political Treatise in 1670, his friend Adriaan Koerbagh faced imprisonment for criticizing organized religion. Anticipating similar reactions, Spinoza published anonymously using a false place of publication. The work did not remain anonymous long despite being written in Latin understood by few general readers. He explicitly forbade its translation into other languages.

  • Spinoza defined substance as that which exists independently without reference to anything external. He called this single infinite self-caused eternal substance God or Nature. The phrase Deus sive Natura encapsulated his view that the whole natural universe consists of one substance. Everything else represents modifications or modes dependent on this primary reality. Concepts like freedom and chance held little meaning within his deterministic framework. An infant believes seeking the breast comes from free will yet lacks power to restrain impulses. All people think themselves free while unaware of causes disposing their desires. Knowledge of true causes transforms passive emotions into active ones anticipating ideas later developed by Sigmund Freud. Spinoza argued things could not have been produced differently than they exist today. His approach involved explaining phenomena through relevant causes rather than probabilistic paths. This strict determinism aligned him with Stoics before him against Epicurean beliefs about atomic randomness. Thought and extension represented complete accounts of the world in mental or physical terms respectively.

  • The Tractatus Theologico-Politicus published in 1670 explained lessons from ancient Israelite history tailored to current Dutch politics. It relied heavily on biblical commentary interpretation philology philosophy legal analysis and more to make its points. The work caused immediate uproar across Europe despite being written for theologians and university faculty rather than masses. Spinoza argued ecclesiastic authority should hold no role in a secular democratic state. He maintained conventional views regarding women's societal roles concluding tersely that women were naturally subordinate due to inherent differences. Biographer Jonathan I. Israel remarked these views were universal for the time period. The unfinished Tractatus Politicus expounded ideas about forms of government intended to show democratic states function best. Secular authorities varied in enforcing Reformed Church orders banning distribution of what was deemed blasphemous material. Spinoza refused offers to chair philosophy at Heidelberg University fearing it might curb freedom of thought. His political writings emphasized individual liberty across moral psychological and metaphysical dimensions helping establish secular theology as a genre.

  • Spinoza's ideas impacted intellectual debates from the seventeenth century through the current era. How he is viewed shifted from atheistic author undermining Judaism to cultural hero representing first secular Jew. One writer contends readers find him beloved perhaps second only to Socrates due to confident equanimity displayed throughout his life. Hegel asserted Spinoza serves as testing point making one either a Spinozist or not philosopher at all. Moses Mendelssohn Lessing Heine Kant Marx Nietzsche Freud all engaged deeply with his philosophy. In 1886 George Santayana published ethical doctrine analysis later characterizing Spinoza as master model understanding naturalistic morality basis. Ludwig Wittgenstein borrowed expression sub specie aeternitatis from Spinoza noting structural affinities between their works. Albert Einstein named Spinoza most influential on world view believing in God revealing himself orderly harmony existing things not concerning fates human actions. Leo Strauss dedicated first book examining critique religion identifying beginning Jewish Modernity tradition. Dutch commemorative medals honored him while highest scientific award bears his name today. A copy of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus presented to Dutch Parliament shares shelf Bible Quran together.

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Common questions

When and where was Baruch Spinoza born?

Baruch Spinoza was born on the 24th of November 1632 into a house on the Houtgracht canal in Amsterdam. The street sat on an artificial island called the Vlooienburg.

Why did community leaders issue a writ of herem against Baruch Spinoza?

Community leaders issued a writ of herem against Baruch Spinoza on the 27th of July 1656 because his actions were described as abominable heresies and monstrous deeds without stating specific reasons. The censure likely involved his growing criticism of Judaism and violated synagogue regulations regarding business disputes.

Who taught Baruch Spinoza Latin and introduced him to scholastic philosophy?

Franciscus van den Enden taught Baruch Spinoza Latin between 1654 and 1657 and introduced him to scholastic philosophy and modern thinkers like René Descartes. Van den Enden was a former Jesuit and self-described atheist who hosted classes where Spinoza learned arts and sciences.

What is the meaning of the phrase Deus sive Natura used by Baruch Spinoza?

The phrase Deus sive Natura encapsulated Baruch Spinoza's view that the whole natural universe consists of one single infinite self-caused eternal substance. He defined this substance as God or Nature while everything else represents modifications or modes dependent on it.

When did Baruch Spinoza publish the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus and why did he use anonymity?

Baruch Spinoza published the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus in 1670 using a false place of publication to avoid persecution. His friend Adriaan Koerbagh had faced imprisonment for criticizing organized religion so Spinoza anticipated similar reactions from theologians.

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All sources

69 references cited across the entry

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  2. 2sepThe Correspondence Theory of TruthMarian David — May 28, 2015
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  15. 15sepEpicurusDavid Konstan — July 8, 2022
  16. 16webBaruch Spinoza, "Human Beings are Determined"Lee C. Archie — 2006-07-12
  17. 17bookA History of PhilosophyFrank Thilly — Holt & Co. — 1914
  18. 18bookHistory of Materialism and Criticism of its Present Importance, Vol. IIFrederick Albert Lange — Houghton, Osgood, & Co. — 1880
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  20. 20newsGod Exists, PhilosophicallyAnthony Gottlieb — 1999-07-18
  21. 21newsSpinoza, 'God-Intoxicated Man' : Three Books Which Mark the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Philosopher's BirthPercy Hutchison — 20 November 1932
  22. 22bookCorrespondence of Benedict de SpinozaBenedict de Spinoza — Wilder Publications — 2009
  23. 23harvnbJaspers (1974) p. 14, 95.Jaspers — 1974
  24. 24bookRoutledge Philosophy GuideBook to Spinoza and The EthicsGenevieve Lloyd — Routledge — 1996
  25. 25sepPantheismWilliam Mander — August 17, 2023
  26. 26sepBaruch SpinozaSteven Nadler — Nov 8, 2023
  27. 27bookDictionnaire Historique et CritiquePierre Bayle — Libraire Desoer — 1820
  28. 28bookReligion and Rational TheologyImmanuel Kant — Cambridge University Press — 1996
  29. 29bookSpinoza and KabbalahElijah Benamozegh — Éditions localement transcendantes — 2024
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  33. 33journalSpinoza, the First Secular Jew?Yirmiyahu Yovel — 1990
  34. 34magazineThe Reticent RadicalAdam Kirsch — 12–19 February 2024
  35. 35bookHegel's History of Philosophy: New InterpretationsMerold Westphal — SUNY Press — 2003
  36. 36bookSpinoza's Modernity: Mendelssohn, Lessing, and HeineWilli Goetschel — University of Wisconsin Press — 2004
  37. 37magazineThe Ethical Doctrine of SpinozaGeorge Santayana — June 1886
  38. 38bookSpinoza's Ethics and "De intellectus emendatione"Benedictus de Spinoza — Dent — 1910
  39. 39bookObiter ScriptaGeorge Santayana — Charles Scribner's Sons — 1936
  40. 40bookPersons and Places : the background of my lifeGeorge Santayana — MIT Press — 1986
  41. 41bookSpinoza contra phenomenology: French rationalism from Cavaillès to DeleuzeKnox Peden — Stanford University Press — 2014
  42. 42journalSpinoza Contra Phenomenology: French Rationalism from Cavaillès to DeleuzeBruce Baugh — 28 March 2015
  43. 43harvnbDeleuze, 1990a
  44. 44citationSpinozist Moments in Deleuze: Materialism as ImmanenceMauricio Rocha — ICI Berlin Press — 2021
  45. 45newsEinstein believes in "Spinoza's God"; Scientist Defines His Faith in Reply, to Cablegram From Rabbi Here. Sees a Divine Order But Says Its Ruler Is Not Concerned "Wit sic Fates and Actions of Human Beings."25 April 1929
  46. 46webEinstein's Third ParadiseGerald Holton — American Institute of Physics
  47. 47bookSpinoza: Portrait of a Spiritual HeroRudolf Kaiser — Philosophical Library — 1946
  48. 48webSpinosaNetherlands Open Air Museum
  49. 49webVan der Ham biedt Verbeet Spinoza aan—voor naast Bijbel en KoranRTL Nieuws — 5 July 2012
  50. 50bookTractatus Theologico-PoliticusBenedictus de Spinoza — Brill — 1991
  51. 51journalYovel, Spinoza and Other HereticsDov Schwartz — 1993
  52. 52journalProgress or Return? The Contemporary Crisis in Western CivilizationLeo Strauss — 1981
  53. 53harvnbSmith (2016) p. 88–108Smith — 2016
  54. 54harvnbNovak (2015)Novak — 2015
  55. 55bookSpinozaRichard H. Popkin — Simon and Schuster — 2013
  56. 56bookBaruch or Benedict : On Some Jewish Aspects of Spinoza's PhilosophyZeev Levy — P. Lang — 1989
  57. 57webThe Jewish philosopher Spinoza was one of the great Enlightenment thinkers. So why was he 'cancelled'?David Rutledge — Australian Broadcasting Corporation — 3 October 2020
  58. 58newsWhy Baruch Spinoza is still excommunicatedSimon Rocker — 28 August 2014
  59. 59webMo 50 – Standbeeld Spinoza – AmsterdamHildo Krop Museum
  60. 60webFrequently Asked Questions : Why are you named after Baruch Spinoza?Spinoza Haruvah
  61. 61webStatue of Spinoza unveiled in Amsterdam centre2008-11-25
  62. 62webWho stands proud on a pedestal in Amsterdam2020-08-22
  63. 63webSpinoza Monument
  64. 64bookAutobiographyJohann W. von Goethe — The Anthological Society — 1901
  65. 65bookOn the History of Religion and Philosophy in GermanyHeinrich Heine — James Cook University of North Queensland — 1982
  66. 66webSpinoza in Borges' looking-glassMarcelo Abadi — University of Pittsburgh — 2001-04-14
  67. 67webSpinoza y la cultura judía argentinaDiego Sztulwark — 2022-02-06
  68. 68webEl Impío de Andrés SpokoinyLuis Huitron — 2022-05-27
  69. 69journalSpinoza e la cognitio universalis dell'ebraico. Demistificazione e speculazione grammaticale nel Compendio di grammatica ebraicaG. Licata — 2009