Gustavo Bueno's materialist philosophy, among others, is based on two master pillars. One of which is that, in order to avoid stumbling into dogmatism or relativism, Every proposal must be based on the firm rock of rigorous sciences..
He reached similar conclusions, three centuries ago, Baruch Spinoza (Amsterdam, November 24, 1632 – The Hague, February 21, 1677), probably the first relevant philosopher who wanted to completely separate philosophy from religion, encouraging the former to embrace science with more interest.
The most hated philosopher
Considered one of the three great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with the French Rene Descartes and the german Gottfried Leibniz, Spinoza was born in the freest city of the time: Amsterdam.
Spinoza's library in the same house, where he lived between 1661 and 1663.
Only in a place as ideologically disruptive as Amsterdam, where the most heterodox thinkers came to live, could Spinoza become the first philosopher of modernity, the first to systematically propose that religion and politics were to be separated, and one of the first promoters of democracy (although he would later think that it was not the only acceptable form of government).
He was also the precursor of the movement to separate faith and superstitions in the Bible, conceiving it as a historical document, and proposed that religion will no longer trample the kingdom of science.
Precisely for this reason, Spinoza would also be one of the most hated philosophers of his time.
A unique life
Spinoza would be totally influenced by the ideas of Descartes, as well as his mentor, Franciscus van den Enden, who was also a radical supporter of Cartesian precepts. Spinoza entered van den Enden's heterodox academy to study in the mid-1650s.
Spinoza would also feel attracted to one of the many sects born in that new era of nonconformity, specifically the branch of the Mennonites in the Netherlands: a sect known as the Collegiants, who were pacifists and believed in withdrawing from society; as explained Russell Shorto in his book Amsterdam:
If we were to collect the names of some of these sects, anyone would think we were reading a list of bands summoned to play at a folk music festival: there were the Tremblers, the Enthusiasts, the Seekers and the Equalizers.
Spinoza's tomb in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in The Hague
Little by little, Spinoza would forget about his father's business and would concentrate only on learning philosophy and guide your interests to cultivate reason. And he would attack the religion with such fervor that his Jewish community would condemn him to excommunication: not in vain, he attacked its practices and laws with as much ruthlessness as a stand-up comedian could do today.
Spinoza believed in God, but for practical purposes he was an atheist, because his god was nothing like the god of the rest. When a rabbi would, in fact, ask Albert Einstein If he believed in God, he replied: "I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the harmony of existence governed by laws, I do not believe in a god who deals with fate and human actions."
The main room of the house - which is now preserved as a museum. Its appearance has been re-constructed.
Being excommunicated, then, for Spinoza was a relief. He said goodbye not only to the community but to his own family. In the 17th century, everyone necessarily belonged to some formal religion. The church or the synagogue were not only spaces where one attended religious ceremonies, but they constituted the very community of people and represented a basic element of identity and legitimacy in social material. However, Spinoza would no longer convert to Christianity or any other faith.
Harassed for his criticism of religious orthodoxy, his books were included in the Index librorum prohibitorum of the Catholic Church (1679). His work circulated clandestinely until it was claimed by great German philosophers of the early 19th century: "Schleiermacher [...] Hegel, Schelling all proclaim with one voice that Spinoza is the father of modern thought."
But Spinoza was, in fact, only one more element of the great changes that occurred at that time. The true transforming engine was the ecosystem where Spinoza would grow up. Specifically, Amsterdam. If you want to know why this place was so special, you can do so in the following video:
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The news
Spinoza: the hated philosopher who wanted to separate religion from science
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.