Erik MorquePhilosophy 213Mid-term question 2The post-Cartesian era of philosophy saw Benedict de Spinoza rise to prominence in the late 17th century. Revered as one of the great rationalists, Spinoza relied on, and often disagreed with, the philosophical foundation provided by René Descartes. Spinoza is best known for the Ethics, his metaphysical approach to rational philosophy. Within ethics, Spinoza takes a particularly divergent approach to Cartesianism in which he presents the doctrine of the single substance to explain the functioning of the universe. The doctrine of one substance, also known as substance monism, is presented extensively in the first part of the Ethics. Spinoza begins the first part with a series of definitions. The most important of these definitions is that of content. “By substance I mean that which is in itself and is conceived in all itself, that is to say, that whose concept does not require the concept of another thing, from which it must be trained. » (ethics part 1, definition 3) in this quote from ethics, it is obvious that Spinoza attaches great importance to the concept of “substance”. By defining substance as self-existent, Spinoza establishes that substance is the highest form of metaphysical classification. furthermore, by not requiring the concept of another thing to understand his own concept, Spinoza is essentially indicating that substance is autonomous, independent of all other things. Spinoza goes on to assert that substance is infinite and that all things in nature are derived from it. Spinoza then explains the concepts of attributes and modes. “By attribute, I mean what the intellect perceives of a substance, as constituting its essence. » in this Spinoza quote ...... middle of paper ...... substance. Spinoza rejects these assertions of Descartes within the doctrine of the unique substance: “the extended thing and the thinking thing are either attributes of God, or affections (modes) of the attributes of God” (ethics 1 p. 8) in this quote from ethics that Spinoza explains that mind and body are only properties of the same substance and are therefore unified under the doctrine of the one substance. Overall, Spinoza and Cartesianism differ on the fundamental principle of monism versus dualism. In the post-Cartesian era, Benedict de Spinoza proposed a new twist on rationalist philosophy and is considered the father of the metaphysical intellect. His contribution to philosophy challenged not only Cartesianism, but also fundamental theology as a whole. His theory of single substance marked a clear divergence from Cartesianism and a new branch of monist philosophical thought...