Spinozism

Spinozism is originally a philosophical battle term of the 18th century and a derogatory term for the teachings of the Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza . With a polemical accent the adjective is Spinozistic used, whereas spinozisch or spinozanisch is usually in value neutral context. However, the connotation of the term historically has been weakened in the course of the increasingly sober philosophical debates, which is why the term has rarely been found in literature since the 19th century in the sense of a polemical catchphrase.

Statements of Spinozism

In his main work, the Ethica more geometrico demonstrata , Spinoza constructs a monistic view of the world, according to which God is nothing other than the "one" substance that includes all existence and outside of which nothing else can exist. Consequently, mind and matter are not separate substances, as is assumed in Cartesianism , but rather two properties (attributes) of the one substance (God). Humans and all other finite things in the world, on the other hand, are merely determinations (modes) in which the essence of God expresses itself.

The Spinozist system is often identified as classical pantheism; Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi even called it the "only consistent" pantheism. This is correct insofar as the terms universe, or God, coincide with that of substance. (Monism) But not with regard to the fact that the individual objects (modes) cannot have the same properties in the same way as the substance itself. (E.g. infinity)

Accusation of atheism

Since the concept of one substance showed elementary differences to all traditional images of God , supporters of the Spinozian system were confronted with persistent accusations of atheism, especially in the 18th century. Any sympathy with the teachings of Spinoza was denounced as atheism , representative of pantheism per se . The most famous thinker who was accused of this in the context of the sensational pantheism controversy was Gotthold Ephraim Lessing .

In the course of German idealism and the subsequently increasingly relaxed or even benevolent view of the Spinozian worldview, the term Spinozism lost most of its clout. The accusation of atheism was not only criticized as being exaggerated and thoughtless, but sometimes turned into the opposite; some voices emphasized the particular religiosity that is inherent in the all-embracing concept of God.

literature

Heinrich Christoph Wilhelm Sigwart: Spinozism explained historically and philosophically . Tübingen 1839 ( books.google.de ).
Karl Löwith : God, man and world in metaphysics from Descartes to Nietzsche. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1967, ISBN 3-525-30113-8 .
Ulrich Neuenschwander : God in modern thinking. Volume 1. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1977, ISBN 3-579-03974-1 .
Benedictus de Spinoza , Wolfgang Bartuschat (ed.): Baruch de Spinoza. Short treatise on God, man and his happiness. Ethics presented in geometric order. 5th fundamentally revised edition. Meiner, Hamburg 1991, ISBN 3-7873-1039-8 .
Helmut Seidel : Spinoza for an introduction . Junius, Hamburg 1994. ISBN 3-88506-905-9 .

Web links

Roland W. Henke: Spinozism. In: UTB hand dictionary philosophy - online dictionary. philosophie-woerterbuch.de, accessed on March 20, 2017 .

Individual evidence

↑ "Spinozism is atheism." ( Jacobi : Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi's Works. Volume IV, first section: Preliminary report. On the teaching of Spinoza, in letters to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn , edited by Friedrich Roth and Friedrich Köppen, Darmstadt 1968, p. 216).
↑ "He was full of religion and full of holy spirit." ( Schleiermacher : On religion. Speeches to the educated among their despisers , edited by Rudolf Otto, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1926, p. 35).

[1] "Spinozism is atheism." ( Jacobi : Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi's Works. Volume IV, first section: Preliminary report. On the teaching of Spinoza, in letters to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn , edited by Friedrich Roth and Friedrich Köppen, Darmstadt 1968, p. 216).

[2] "He was full of religion and full of holy spirit." ( Schleiermacher : On religion. Speeches to the educated among their despisers , edited by Rudolf Otto, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1926, p. 35).