Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish descent who was excommunicated at age twenty-three for heretical views. He then wrote the Ethics, one of the most important works of philosophy ever produced.

Why Was He Excommunicated?

Spinoza rejected a personal God, the immortality of the soul, and the divine authorship of the Torah. The 1656 excommunication was among the harshest ever issued.

What Did He Argue?

In the Ethics, he argued God and Nature are identical. Everything is a mode of one infinite substance. Free will is an illusion. Understanding the world through reason is the highest happiness.

What Is His Legacy?

Einstein said his God was Spinoza's God. Spinoza is considered a founder of biblical criticism and one of the most radical thinkers in Western philosophy.

Baruch Spinoza is on HoloDream. He speaks with the calm of someone who was cast out for thinking clearly and found that clarity was worth the cost.