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Benedict de Spinoza
Dutch-Jewish philosopher
Also known as: Baruch Spinoza, Bendictus Spinoza, Bento de Espinosa
Category:
History & Society
- Hebrew forename:
- Baruch
- Latin forename:
- Benedictus
- Portuguese:
- Bento de Espinosa
- Born:
- November 24, 1632, Amsterdam
- Died:
- February 21, 1677, The Hague (aged 44)
- Subjects Of Study:
- mind-body dualism
- pantheism
- On the Web:
- The National Endowment for the Humanities - Why Spinoza Was Excommunicated (Apr. 02, 2024)
Benedict de Spinoza (born November 24, 1632, Amsterdam—died February 21, 1677, The Hague) was a Dutch Jewish philosopher, one of the foremost exponents of 17th-century Rationalism and one of the early and seminal figures of the Enlightenment. His masterwork is the treatise Ethics (1677). Spinoza’s Portuguese parents were among many Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity but continued to practice Judaism in secret (see Marranos). After being arrested, tortured, and condemned by the inquisition in Portugal, they escaped to Amsterdam, where Spinoza’s father, Michael, became an important merchant and eventually served as one of the directors of the city’s ...(100 of 4596 words)