ABSTRACT
Baruch Spinoza, later known as Benedictus de Spinoza, was a Dutch philosopher. He was born in Amsterdam in 1632. He received his education in the Marrano community of Amsterdam. The same community excommunicated him in 1656, apparently due to his controversial theological views. Published after Spinoza's death, Ethics was almost universally condemned upon its publication. Extending his monism, Spinoza denies the existence of free will. He argues that human freedom involves a recognition that the world functions in a way that is deterministic. Based on this, Ethics offers an intriguing analysis of human emotions, which are seen as stemming from joy, sadness, and desire. These, in turn, he views as expressions of the effort to persist in being. Spinoza's work also contains some intriguing insights into the psychology of what people ordinarily think of as emotions, which he referred to as "affects". It offers a definition and in-depth discussion of love, hate, hope, fear, and other affects.
