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146. - Physics

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Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2025

Karolina Hübner
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Justin Steinberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

Spinoza engaged with topics connected with natural philosophy throughout his philosophical career and his writings. His metaphysics, and his substance monism, entail that Extension (which, arguably, can be understood as geometrical space) defines the essential property of all bodies, and belongs to the only substance (God) as one of its attributes. In this context, for instance, Spinoza denies the possibility of a vacuum (like Descartes) and conceives of Extension, as an attribute, as infinite but as actually indivisible (cf. E1p15s; Ep12). This metaphysical commitment shapes Spinoza’s understanding of the physical world, which must be fully explained by appealing to the notions of matter (Extension) and motion (and rest) only. In this sense, Spinoza’s engagement with physics falls in the broad mechanist orientation that gains traction during the mid seventeenth century.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Recommended Reading

Andrault, R. (2014). La vie selon la raison: Physiologie et métaphysique chez Spinoza et Leibniz. Honoré Champion.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matheron, A. (1991). Physique et ontologie chez Spinoza: L’énigmatique réponse à Tschirnhaus. Cahiers Spinoza, 6, 83109.Google Scholar
Parrochia, D. (1984–85). Physique pendulaire et modèles dans l’Éthique de Spinoza. Cahiers Spinoza, 5, 711–92.Google Scholar
Peterman, A. (2014). Spinoza on physical science. Philosophy Compass, 9(3), 214–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, J. (2014). Descartes and the individuation of bodies. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 96(1), 3870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sangiacomo, A. (2019). Spinoza on Reason, Passions, and the Supreme Good. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viljanen, V. (2011). Spinoza’s Geometry of Power. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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