On July 27, 1656, the leaders of Amsterdam’s Portuguese-Jewish community gathered to cast out one of their own. Baruch Spinoza, a brilliant 23-year-old, had developed what they called 'abominable heresies.' For this, they issued an exceptionally harsh decree of excommunication. No one was to speak to him, do him a favor, or even stay under the same roof with him. The formal curse was read aloud: 'Cursed be he by day and cursed be he by night; cursed be he when he lies down and cursed be he when he rises up.' They had offered him a large yearly pension to simply pretend to be pious, but he refused. After the ban, Spinoza left his Hebrew name, Baruch, behind, adopting its Latin equivalent: Benedictus. Both meant 'blessed.'
Spinoza: God or Nature
Excommunicated at 23 for "evil opinions," Baruch Spinoza lived as a lens grinder while arguing that God and nature are one.
Chapter 1
The Curse
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Baruch Spinoza excommunicated from his community?
At 23, Spinoza was excommunicated for his 'evil opinions' and 'abominable heresies.' He challenged core tenets of faith, arguing that God is not a personal creator but is identical with nature, and that the Bible should be read as a historical text, not a divine one.
What was Spinoza's most famous idea?
Spinoza's most famous concept is 'Deus sive Natura,' which translates to 'God, or Nature.' He argued that there is only one substance in the universe, which is infinite and eternal, and that everything in existence, including people, is simply a modification or 'mode' of this single substance.
How did Spinoza believe a person could become free?
Spinoza rejected the idea of free will. For him, freedom was the understanding of necessity. He taught that we are enslaved by our passions and emotions only when we are ignorant of their causes. By understanding why things must be the way they are, we can achieve a state of peace he called the 'intellectual love of God'.
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