Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinozawas a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi/Portuguese origin. By laying the groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th-century philosophy...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth24 November 1632
school men natural
Academies that are founded at public expense are instituted not so much to cultivate men's natural abilities as to restrain them.
two matter sides
No matter how thin you slice it, there will always be two sides.
communication philosophical men
The world would be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent that they have to speak.
god faith hope
I do not know how to teach philosophy without becoming a disturber of established religion.
stronger overcoming emotion
Reason connot defeat emotion, an emotion can only be displaced or overcome by a stronger emotion.
views goal causes
Nature has no goal in view, and final causes are only human imaginings.
love emotional emotion
The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is.
men emotion prey
When a man is prey to his emotions, he is not his own master.
wisdom peace military
Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
life nature chance
Nothing in nature is by chance... Something appears to be chance only because of our lack of knowledge.
government opinion crime
The most tyrannical of governments are those which make crimes of opinions, for everyone has an inalienable right to his thoughts.
wisdom philosophical effort
I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.
inspirational education understanding
The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.
philosophical learning past
If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.