Metaphysics of Benedictus de Spinoza: One Infinite Substance

[karene]

Metaphysics of Benedictus de Spinoza

We are a part of nature as a whole, whose order we follow. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)




Introduction to Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was born in Amsterdam into a Jewish family. He had a Jewish education, resisted orthodoxy and was later excommunicated of heresy and changed his name to Benedictus de Spinoza in 1656 (commonly spelt 'Benedict'). His main philosophical work 'Ethics' was published posthumously and is written in five parts. It begins with his Metaphysics, 'Concerning God', and then later addresses the Nature of Mind, Emotions, Intellect, Reason and Will.

Metaphysics of Benedictus de Spinoza

For Spinoza, God and Nature were One. In Ethics he describes God as One Infinite Eternal Substance which exists (which is a similar understanding to his contemporary, Gottfried Leibniz). Thus Spinoza's Metaphysics is consistent with the Metaphysics of Space (Space is the One Infinite Eternal Substance which exists) and the Wave Structure of Matter (which explains Spinoza's connection of motion and time and the interconnected motions of matter).

God as One Substance
Except God no substance can be granted or conceived.
... Everything, I say, is in God, and all things which are made, are made by the laws of the infinite nature of God, and necessarily follows from the necessity of his essence. (Spinoza, 1673)


Nature of Substance
But if men would give heed to the nature of substance they would doubt less concerning the Proposition that Existence appertains to the nature of substance: rather they would reckon it an axiom above all others, and hold it among common opinions. For then by substance they would understand that which is in itself, and through itself is conceived, or rather that whose knowledge does not depend on the knowledge of any other thing. (Spinoza, 1673)

One Infinite Substance
No two or more substances can have the same attribute and it appertains to the nature of substance that it should exist. It must therefore exist finitely or infinitely. But not finitely. For it would then be limited by some other substance of the same nature which also of necessity must exist: and then two substances would be granted having the same attribute, which is absurd. It will exist, therefore, infinitely. (Spinoza, 1673)

One Ageless and Eternal Substance
A substance cannot be produced from anything else : it will therefore be its own cause, that is, its essence necessarily involves existence, or existence appertains to the nature of it. (Spinoza, 1673)

Spinoza & the Metaphysics of Motion
On the Interconnected Motions of Matter

No one doubts but that we imagine time from the very fact that we imagine other bodies to be moved slower or faster or equally fast. We are accustomed to determine duration by the aid of some measure of motion. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)

When a number of bodies of the same or different size are driven so together that they remain united one with the other, or if they are moved with the same or different rapidity, so that they communicate their motions one to another in a certain ratio, those bodies are called reciprocally united bodies (corpora invicem unita), and we say that they all form one body or individual, which is distinguished from the rest by this union of the bodies. (Spinoza, Ethics, 1673)

The Spherical Standing Wave Motion of Space causes matter's activity and the phenomena of Time. Time is a consequence of the Finite Velocity of Waves in Space, thus it takes time for a Wave to flow from place to place. Time does not exist as a thing in itself, it is, like the 'Particle', an effect of Waves in Space, not a cause. Thus Time only applies to Waves in Space (i.e. matter) and not to Space itself.
This confirms Spinoza's (and Aristotle's) connection of Motion and Time, and most significantly connects these two things back to one thing Space.

Spinoza was further aware of the importance of the relative and interconnected Motions of Matter;

When a number of bodies of the same or different size are driven so together that they remain united one with the other, or if they are moved with the same or different rapidity, so that they communicate their motions one to another in a certain ratio, those bodies are called reciprocally united bodies (corpora invicem unita), and we say that they all form one body or individual, which is distinguished from the rest by this union of the bodies. (Spinoza, 1673)


http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Spinoza-Philosopher.htm
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Theology-Pantheism-Spinoza.htm