Baruch Spinoza ¹

Amsterdam, November 24^th 1632 – The Hague, February 21^st 1677

1. Baruch Spinoza, born ‘Benedito de Espinosa’ (Portuguese), November 24^th 1632 – February 21^st 1677, later Benedict de Spinoza, was a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi Portuguese origin.
The breadth and importance of Spinoza’s work was not fully realized until many years after his death.
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.
His magnum opus, the posthumous ‘Ethics’, in which he opposed Descartes’ mind–body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of Western philosophy’s most important thinkers.
In the Ethics, “Spinoza wrote the last indisputable Latin masterpiece, and one in which the refined conceptions of medieval philosophy are finally turned against themselves and destroyed entirely.” Hegel said, “You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all.”

Spinoza was raised in the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam.
He developed highly controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine.
The Jewish religious authorities issued a cherem against him, effectively excluding him from Jewish society at age 23.
His books were also later put on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books.

Spinoza lived an outwardly simple life as a lens grinder (on this page a lens magnifies his potrait with a mouse-over), turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions.

Spinoza died at the age of 44 allegedly of a lung illness, perhaps tuberculosis or silicosis exacerbated by fine glass dust inhaled while grinding optical lenses.
Spinoza is buried in the churchyard of the Christian ‘Nieuwe Kerk’ in The Hague.