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Philosophy Talk: Spinoza

What made Baruch Spinoza one of the most beguiling and influential thinkers of all time?

Baruch Spinoza (born November 24, 1632) was a Dutch philosopher who laid the foundations for the Enlightenment. He made the controversial claim that there is only one substance in the universe, which led him to the pantheistic belief in an abstract, impersonal God. What effect did Spinoza have on Enlightenment thinkers? What are the philosophical – and religious – consequences of believing that there is only one substance in the universe? And why do scientists today still take him seriously? John and Ken welcome back Rebecca Goldstein, author of Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity. Sunday 11/22 at 11 am.