application/pdfBaruch Spinoza (1632-1677), one of the callosal figures of Western philosophy, has been underappreciated.Few today recognize his contribution to global civilization, especially his focus on human rights and democratic values. His concern for the psychological health of people is also unique among modern philosophers. In some of this he followed various Greek philosophers, insisting that the pursuit of meaning and understanding must also be a social good, even transformative for those engaged in it. His valuesystem came from his Jewish upbringing, however, where the methodical study of the Torah, Talmud, and Kabbalah was also meant to be elevating. Spinoza took this approach, along with concepts from philosophers of his day, and applied them universally, believing that an enlightened humanity would create
a more peaceful world (or at least one where religious conflict is reduced). He also answered the question of what kind of world would emerge when religion, politics, and even ethics were based on empirical objectivity rather than on religion or ideology. A rational world, he asserted, would be a much better one for everyone. In this article I will review a little of Baruch Spinoza’s major ideas, before considering his two most important works: Treatise on Theology and Politics (1670) and Ethics (1677). Spinoza’s view of the divine is singularly distinctive in world history and staggering in its scope. I will consider a few of the ways in which he may have developed this and how his views completely remove the divine from dogmatic disputes.departmental bulletin pape
