Descartes And Spinoza On Nature Of God - 1282 Words

When it comes to life’s unanswerable questions, philosophers have always been prepared to provide possible explanations on what they believe and try to further discuss difficult topics. This is certainly the case when it comes to Descartes and Spinoza, who are both adamant that their views provide the correct context and insight on their opinions of God. In Readings in Modern Philosophy by Ariew and Watkins, it is revealed that while both philosophers tend to agree on opinions like God being infinite, there are many reasons why Descartes and Spinoza disagree on the nature of God and their opinion of substance, for example, Descartes believes that there is more than one type of substance, while Spinoza argues that God is the only substance,†¦show more content†¦This goes back to the idea of God being infinite because he acknowledges that a substance like God will always persist regardless of if anyone was there to think him into existence. In addition, the view that Go d is a morally good and just substance plays a significant role in Descartes beliefs, without it, many of his ideas wouldn’t be as secure, such as his beliefs of physical objects, he explains this when he states, â€Å"Now there clearly is in me a passive faculty of sensing, that is, a faculty for receiving and knowing the ideas of sensible things; but I could not use it unless there also existed, either in me or in something else, a certain active faculty of producing or bringing about these ideas†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (RMP, 51). This is one way that Descartes argues that the nature of God is supremely good. It shows that Descartes doesn’t think that God is a deceiver, this is important because it revelas how he views God’s nature, as an inherently good because he explains that if we are deceived by God then he must not be real because God is not a deceiver. Alternatively, Spinoza’s ideas of the nature of God differ greatly. To begin, Spinoza views God as the only infinite substance that has an infinite amount of distinct attributes. He believes that God exists necessarily and that created substances are nonexistent. He defines substance by stating, â€Å"Substance which we understand to be through itself supremely perfect and in which nothing can beShow MoreRelatedDescartes And Spinoza On The Freedom Of Human Will904 Words   |  4 Pagespowerless and our actions and decisions are predetermined by prior causes? Well, there are two philosophers named Descartes and Spinoza that have had some disagreements about the human will and will give you their accounts about why their argument is stronger than the other. Descartes account of the will starts from the very nature of the will. The nature of will is given from God to give or withhold assent; to act on desires. When the will and the intellect, which contains ideas, come togetherRead MoreRationalism - Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz1731 Words   |  7 Pagesprinciple that maintains that through reason alone we can gain at least some positive knowledge of the world. The three major rationalists, Rene Descartes, Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Welhelm Leibniz, used this idea in order to defy skepticism and expose the true nature of reality. However, each philosopher is frequently in disagreement. The idea for ‘God’, and what constitutes substance, matter and reality are the four key structural beliefs that aid each rationalist in the forming of their argumentsRead MoreIn Philosophy, There Are Going To Be Some Agreements And1393 Words   |  6 Pagesall is Descartes’ and Spinoza’s take in regards to mind and bod y, and God and free will, God existence. I will compare and contrast Descartes’ and Spinoza’s perspectives on the relationship between mind and body, and God and free will. 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