PHIL4406 Lecture Notes - Monism, Baruch Spinoza, General Idea
Document Summary
The mind/body problem among the rationalists is an argument trying to determine what everything on earth is built of and made from. Spinoza was a natural monist, meaning he believed that everything was made up of one substance and one substance only. The one substance spinoza hypothesized that everything was made up of was god (you can also call this substance nature). Everything can be broken down into smaller and smaller components but once you hit the level of god, it cannot be broken down any further. Unlike descartes who believed that everything is made up of either mind or body, spinoza believed that god is an attribute of both mind (thought) and body (extension). This view that everything is made up of. God, sounds very similar to some of the roman catholic beliefs that god is everywhere and in everything. At the same time however, spinoza"s view goes against the church"s views.
