Baruch Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza was a philosopher of the early modern rationalist movement, active in the Dutch Republic. Born in Amsterdam to a Portuguese-Jewish merchant family, he was excommunicated by his community in 1656 and thereafter lived quietly, earning income by grinding optical lenses. His principal work, the posthumously published "Ethics," is written in the geometric method (arranged as definitions, axioms and proofs like Euclid) and identifies God with Nature ("Deus sive Natura"). He also wrote the "Theological-Political Treatise," an early argument for freedom of thought and historical-critical reading of scripture. He declined a Heidelberg professorship, valuing independence. He died at The Hague of a lung ailment.