This past Monday
night, I delivered a talk on a topic that still captivates me, even though I
supposedly have "finished" the project. It focuses on the
following paradox in Spinoza's thought: How can a world characterized by
supreme complexity spring from a cause (God) that is supremely simple?
Stated differently, how can God be equated to Nature, which is supremely
complex, and to Substance, which is supremely simple? This paper will get
you thinking about both God and politics, and was inspired by a prayer
delivered by my daughter Hannah to open a pro forma session of the U.S. House
of Representatives.
Why is this topic
so intriguing to me? Above all else, because it deals with a doctrine
that is hardly unique to Spinoza -- divine simplicity. Thomas Aquinas and
Duns Scotus are two other philosophers who supported that doctrine even before
Spinoza did. I must say that it's far afield from the way most people think about God. But is it reasonable? Is it compelling? Does it give us sustenance? I'll leave those questions for you to think about when you read an essay based on Monday night's talk. You can
find the essay at the following page of my website, under the title: "The
Complexity of the World, the Simplicity of God: A Spinozist
Perspective" -- www.danielspiro.com/spinoza.html.
I hope you enjoy
it.
No comments:
Post a Comment