In this blog post, we will examine Spinoza’s ideas and how he overturned traditional notions of God, humans, and nature to present a new philosophical understanding.
Known as the “philosopher who provoked philosophy,” Spinoza criticized anthropocentric and teleological thinking and questioned existing notions of God, humans, and nature. He viewed God not as a transcendent being outside the world, but as nature itself. This was a powerful challenge to the traditional religious view of the time and fundamentally different from the perspective that saw God as a personal being with human attributes. Additionally, he believed that God does not possess specific purposes or intentions, and that everything in the world flows naturally according to natural laws. This perspective overturned the existing belief that the world was governed by the will and plan of God. His thoughts on God, humans, and nature are clearly revealed in his explanation of substance and mode. He viewed substance as an existence that is the cause of its own existence, that is, an independent existence that does not depend on anything else to exist. According to this, only God can be considered the only substance.
On the other hand, Spinoza viewed all existence other than God as modes, which are transformations of substance and cannot exist apart from substance. His distinction did not merely remain a philosophical idea but raised fundamental questions about how humans should view and understand the world. For example, he criticized the view that humans are independent and autonomous beings, emphasizing that humans are merely transformed modes of God, who is substance.
According to him, substance, or God, possesses various attributes, but the only attributes of God that humans can perceive are thought and extension. Thought is the act of thinking through the mind, while extension is the occupation of a certain part of space. Spinoza viewed modes as the transformed manifestations of God’s attributes of thought and extension. For example, things such as intelligence and will are modifications of thought, and objects that can be seen with the eyes are modifications of extension. In this way, he understood all human activities and the material world as modifications of substance, suggesting that all existence derives from the attributes of God.
He also divided nature into nature that produces and nature that is produced, and explained this in connection with substance and modes. The nature that produces is God, who creates all things. “The nature that produces nature” is the principle of all things, indicating that it is the origin of everything, and Spinoza used this concept to explain the essence of God. On the other hand, “the nature that is produced” is nature that exists only at a certain moment and corresponds to modes.
This dual concept of nature emphasizes that humans are not beings who dominate and utilize nature, but rather beings who live according to the laws of nature as part of nature. According to Spinoza, the anthropocentric view that humans, who are merely modes like other natural objects, can freely utilize other natural objects as they see fit leads to endless greed, which in turn leads to an unhappy life.
This criticism called for a fundamental reexamination of the social and religious thinking of the time. The human-centered thinking that was widespread at the time, which held that humans alone were special beings capable of manipulating nature at will, was often used as a justification for exploiting nature. However, Spinoza directly criticized this, arguing that not only humans but also other animals possess minds and that humans exist solely within the laws of nature.
He emphasized that in order for humans to escape from passions such as desire and greed, find peace of mind, and lead a happy life, they must realize that they are merely one form of existence, just like other beings, and understand their proper place. He believed that instead of viewing themselves as masters of nature, humans should recognize all things as equal to themselves. He believed that through this realization, humans could break free from the bonds of passions and advance toward freedom of the mind. This idea caused a great stir in society at the time and became a catalyst for reexamining the relationship between human existence and nature.
Ultimately, Spinoza viewed humans not as the center of the world, but as expressions created by nature. He presented a path for humans to live in harmony with nature by recognizing their own limitations as part of nature. Spinoza’s philosophy sounded a wake-up call to those who viewed the world from a human-centered perspective and continues to exert a profound influence on modern philosophy. His ideas opened up new possibilities for understanding the position and role of humanity and provided a philosophical foundation for seeking harmonious relationships with nature.
