Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza (also Benedict de Spinoza) was a 17th-century Dutch philosopher and theologian who developed a controversial pantheistic doctrine advocating intellectual love of God.
His posthumous masterwork Ethics (1677) opposed René Descartes' mind-body dualism and established him as a great rationalist.
Excommunicated from Amsterdam's Jewish community for his unorthodox views, Spinoza lived modestly as a lens grinder while developing his philosophical system.
His work laid groundwork for the 18th-century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism.
Hegel famously declared that one is "either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all." His breadth and importance were not fully recognized until years after his death in 1677.
