Abstract
Baruch Benedict Spinoza was born on the 24th November 1632 at Amesterdam, and died on the 20th February 1677 at the Hague. His family belonged to a group of Marrans Sephardic Jews (Spanish and Portuguese) who had fled from the persecutions of the inquisition and had finally found a refuge in Holland (Netherlands). He studied at the Jewish Academy in Amesterdam, where he laid the foundation of an essential side of his philosophy. He asserted and maintained that God, as an absolutely infinite being, Natura Naturans, is the origin and source of every being and knowledge, and not solely the existence of the
world. In his words, the Modes or the Natura Naturata depends on Him, but no idea without His idea is possible.
This oriental and mystical tendency forms the basis of all his thought.
Contrary to other philosophers, he started his philosophy from God. He searched for the supreme virtue and the true blessedness in God's knowledge and love. He was a free thinker, and a living, eloquent guide, who in the defence of
his own idea suffered the grand excommunication, and acted as he thought.
He freed himself from occupations of any kind and from the distractions of business. He earned his living as an optical-lens maker, never accepted anything, even from his intimate friends, in order to be at liberty and pursue his ideal of truth. He did not have a pessimistic attitude towards life. In fact, he was against Monasticisim and condemned it.
Althuogh he withdrew himself entirely from the world, he was known to many distinguished men of learning. He was
primarily a moralist. This is evident from the very titles of his writings. He called his chief work Ethics and the first complete sketch of his philosophy is contained in the treatise on God, Man and his well-being. According to him ethic stands close the knowledge of the emotions and affections of the soul. He considered human actions and desires as if they are exactly questions of lines, planes and bodies. Spinoza identified virtue with power, and maintained that the foundation of every virtue IS
self-preservation - in his words, conatus.
At the beginning of his treatise on the Correction of the Understanding, Spinoza treated Good .Good which is the most important, true and eternal and feeds the mind with great joy which remains for ever.
In short, some philosophers have come to philosophy from the problems of physical science, some from those of pure mathematics, others from those of logic or metaphysics, Spinoza came to philosophy from the problems of conduct. Therefore it seems appropriate to write an explanatory ¬critical paper on the ethical views of this great philosopher. I hope this paper provides fresh and stimulating insights for the readers.
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