What Was Spinoza’s God Like And Why Did Einstein Believe In Him?
What are we? Why are we here? Does one’s existence have meaning? How, where and when did the universe originate? These and other questions have aroused the curiosity of human beings since ancient times, who have tried to offer different types of explanations, such as those coming from religion and science.
The philosopher Baruch Spinoza, for example, created a philosophical theory that served as one of the religious references that have most influenced Western thought since the 17th century. In this article we will see what Spinoza’s God was like and how this thinker lived spirituality.
Science and religion. Both concepts have been continually confronted throughout history. One of the issues on which they have clashed the most is the existence of God or different gods who have hypothetically created and regulate nature and existence in general.
Many scientists have considered that belief in a higher entity involves an unrealistic way of explaining reality However, this does not mean that scientists cannot have their own religious beliefs.
Some great figures in history have even maintained the existence of God, but not as a personal entity that exists and is apart from the world. This is the case of the renowned philosopher Baruch de Spinoza and his conception of God, which has subsequently been followed by renowned scientists such as Albert Einstein.
Spinoza’s God
Baruch de Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in 1632 , and has been considered one of the three greatest rationalist philosophers of the 17th century. His reflections involved a profound criticism of the classical and orthodox vision of religion, which ended up generating his excommunication by his community and his banishment, as well as the prohibition and censorship of his writings.
In this way, thought and matter are only expressed dimensions of said substance or modes, and everything that surrounds us, including ourselves, They are parts that make up the divine in the same way Spinoza believed that the soul is not something exclusive to the human mind, but rather permeates everything: stones, trees, landscapes, etc.
Thus, from the point of view of this philosopher, what we usually attribute to the extracorporeal and the divine is the same thing as the material; It is not part of parallel logic.
Spinoza and his concept of divinity
God is conceptualized not as a personal and personified entity that directs existence externally to it, but as the set of everything that exists, which is expressed both in extension and in thought. In other words, God is considered to be reality itself , which is expressed through nature. This would be one of the particular ways in which God expresses himself.
Spinoza’s God would not give a purpose to the world, but rather it is a part of him. He is considered naturating nature, that is, what is and gives rise to different modes or natural natures, such as thought or matter. In short, for Spinoza God is everything and outside of him nothing exists.
This thought leads this thinker to say that God It does not need to be worshiped nor does it establish a moral system , this being a product of man. There are no bad or good acts in themselves, these concepts being mere elaborations.
Spinoza’s conception of man is deterministic: does not consider the existence of free will as such , since everything is part of the same substance and nothing exists outside of it. Thus, for him, freedom is based on reason and the understanding of reality.
Spinoza also considered that there is no mind-body dualism , but rather it was the same indivisible element. He also did not consider the idea of ​​transcendence in which soul and body are separated, what is experienced in life being important.
Einstein and his beliefs
Spinoza’s beliefs earned him the disapproval of his people, excommunication, and censure. However, his ideas and works remained and were accepted and appreciated by a large number of people throughout history. One of them was one of the most valued scientists of all time, Albert Einstein
The father of the theory of relativity had religious interests in childhood, although these interests would later change throughout his life. Despite the apparent conflict between science and faith, in some interviews Einstein would express his difficulty in answering the question of whether he believed in the existence of God. Although he did not share the idea of ​​a personal God, he stated that he considered the human mind is not capable of understanding the entire universe or how it is organized despite being able to perceive the existence of a certain order and harmony.
Although he has often been classified as a convinced atheist, Albert Einstein’s spirituality was closer to a pantheistic agnosticism In fact, he would criticize fanaticism on the part of both believers and atheists. The winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics would also reflect that his religious position and beliefs were close to Spinoza’s vision of God, as something that does not direct and punish us but is simply part of everything and manifests itself through this whole. . For him, the laws of nature existed and provided a certain order in chaos, divinity manifesting itself in harmony.
He also believed that science and religion are not necessarily at odds, since both pursue the search and understanding of reality. Furthermore, both attempts to explain the world mutually stimulate each other.
