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Benedictus de Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in 1632 as Baruch d’Espinoza (‘Bento’). As the son of Jewish parents who fled from Portugal, he received a Jewish religious education. He criticized Jewish traditions and regarded the Tenach (Hebrew Bible) as a text written by humans. When Spinoza was 23, the Jewish community excommunicated him. He was no longer allowed to have contact with his family or other members of the Jewish community. He found a new circle of friends among free-thinking people in Amsterdam.

In 1661, Spinoza moved to Rijnsburg. He lived there in the house of surgeon (doctor) Herman Homan, now the Spinoza House Museum. During the years he lived there, he wrote a book about the philosophy of the French thinker René Descartes (1596 – 1650), who believed that knowledge and truth could only be obtained by using your mind. He also ground lenses for optical instruments such as telescopes and maintained contacts with scholars from various countries. In Rijnsburg, he also laid the foundation for his most important book: the Ethics (Ethica). In 1663, he moved to Voorburg and seven years later to The Hague, where he died in 1677.

The books that Spinoza wrote were revolutionary for his time. For example, in his book Theological-Political Treatise (1670), he advocated freedom of thought and religion. He stated that theological and philosophical issues should remain separate. Theology was focused on obedience, while philosophy aimed at finding the truth. Spinoza criticized superstition, rules and unfounded doctrines that often form part of religious practices. He encourages a rational approach to religion and a critical view of opinions that are based purely on tradition. He states that people have the right to form their own beliefs without fear of persecution.

Spinoza also writes about his views on democracy and freedom of expression. In Spinoza’s view, all people are driven by an inner urge to continue to exist and to pursue their happiness. In order to prevent unsafe situations among people in this pursuit of happiness, rules of conduct are necessary. These rules are followed best when we establish them together. Spinoza therefore advocates democracy. In a democracy, people can freely express their thoughts and have influence on government and political decisions that are taken. Authorities serve the citizens over whom they govern. Worldly authority overrules ecclesiastical authority.

The Theological-Political Treatise is still considered a milestone in European history. Until recently, it stood next to the Bible and the Koran on the desk of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Dutch Parliament. In Spinoza’s time, the situation was very different. The book was banned by the authorities because it was blasphemous and would mislead “the common people.” It was considered “a book forged in hell.”

Ethics (or, in Latin: Ethica), Spinoza’s main work, consists of five parts, each dealing with a specific aspect of Spinoza’s philosophy. Spinoza argues that God and nature coincide. God’s laws are the “laws of nature”; laws that follow an iron logic and according to which everything that happens is the result of a series of causes and effects. Albert Einstein, one of the most important physicists in history, once summarized Spinoza’s image of God in the statement: “I believe in the God of Spinoza who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of the universe and not in the God who concerns himself with the fate and actions of people.”

Spinoza describes knowledge as a means to a deeper understanding of reality and thus to a form of spiritual freedom. He distinguishes between different types of knowledge: ‘imagination’, ‘reason’ and ‘intuition’. Imagination refers to knowledge through experience and observation, which is often incomplete and unreliable. Reason (ratio) is knowledge obtained through logical reasoning, by deducing things and critically approaching information. He calls ‘intuition’ the highest form of knowledge; the direct feeling of connectedness and peace with the whole of nature and its laws.

Spinoza also discusses ’emotions’ in detail in the Ethics: how people can fall prey to them and how by understanding our emotions we can gain power over them, in order to lead a freer life.

The final chapter of the Ethics is a plea for spiritual freedom. It is an invitation to understand and accept our place as part of nature. In this way we can find peace in the rational order of the universe. Spinoza’s philosophy is both challenging and comforting, because it encourages us to understand and embrace our own nature, and to strive for a life guided by reason and insight.

Spinoza died in 1677, probably of tuberculosis. The Ethics had not yet been published but was ‘ready for printing’, so that his friends could publish the book shortly after his death. Spinoza did not aspire to publish the book during his lifetime because he feared punitive measures from the government.

To pay for the funeral, his household effects were auctioned. The inventory list that the notary drew up prior to the sale shows that Spinoza led an extremely frugal life. He owned nothing of value except his library with books on a large number of different subjects. Dictionaries, writings by the ‘old philosophers’ such as Aristotle and those by ‘contemporary’ philosophers such as Machiavelli, books on technical subjects, various editions of the Bible, etc.

A reconstructed version of Spinoza’s library can be admired in the Spinoza House Museum. Comparable historical copies have been obtained of most of the approximately 160 books listed on the inventory list. It is possible that there is a copy among them that the philosopher himself had in his hands.