Ethics | Themes

Ethics Themes

Nothing Exists But God

One of the major aims of the Ethics is to contradict widely held theological doctrines, particularly those concerning the nature of God. Spinoza was raised Jewish, and so he was taught that God is an immaterial creator who loves us and possesses free will. Spinoza wishes to contradict all four of these ideas. First, God is a substance. He is the only thing that can exist on his own, without the support or cause of anything else. Further, God is the only substance in the universe. Everything else that exists is a part of God or a manifestation of the divine nature. God has 'attributes' or essential properties. An essential property is a property a substance has necessarily and that explains the nature of the substance. We know that God has the attribute of existence; therefore he must exist.

Expounding further, we know that God has the attributes of...
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