Descartes Spinoza Descartes Vs. Spinoza Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 669 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 2

Spinoza defines "substance" as "what is in itself and is conceived through itself, i.e. that whose concept doesn't have to be formed out of the concept of something else." He defines "attribute" as "what the intellect perceives of a substance as constituting its essence."

Spinoza sets up his argument for the nondivisibility of God by establishing that substances are exclusive. In Proposition 2, he establishes that "Two substances having different attributes have nothing in common with one another." In proposition 5, he establishes that "In Nature there cannot be two or more substances having the same nature or attribute."

Spinoza demonstrates that, if God is infinite, God can never create anything which is separate from God.

In Proposition 3, he establishes that "If things have nothing in common with one another, one of them cannot be the cause of the other." In proposition 6, he establishes that "One substance can't be produced by another substance."

With these definitions and propositions established, Spinoza proceeds to demonstrate that there can only be one substance in the universe.

Stuck Writing Your "Descartes Spinoza Descartes Vs. Spinoza" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Descartes Spinoza Descartes Vs. Spinoza Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

(P14) to prove this, he writes, "Since God is an absolutely infinite thing, of whom no attribute expressing an essence of substance can be denied (by 6), and God necessarily exists (by 11), if there were a substance other than God it would have to be explained through some attribute of God; but explanations can flow only within attributes, not from one attribute to another; and so two substances with an attribute in common would exist, which (by 5) is absurd."

Conclusion

Ultimately, Spinoza took Descartes' idea of "infinite" to its logical conclusion. Spinoza believed that anything which is truly infinite is incapable of the division necessary to create a separate universe, which would be a separate substance for Spinoza. However, one must keep in mind that Spinoza had a very restrictive notion of substance in mind. For Spinoza, God might have created man or the universe in some sense, just not in the sense that….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Descartes Spinoza Descartes Vs Spinoza" (2011, April 08) Retrieved June 6, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/descartes-spinoza-descartes-spinoza-13245

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Descartes Spinoza Descartes Vs Spinoza" 08 April 2011. Web.6 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/descartes-spinoza-descartes-spinoza-13245>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Descartes Spinoza Descartes Vs Spinoza", 08 April 2011, Accessed.6 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/descartes-spinoza-descartes-spinoza-13245
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example