Baruch Spinoza’s Most Memorable Sayings

You’ve probably once heard the sayings of Baruch Spinoza,  as he is one of the most quoted thinkers in the world. His words are as relevant today as they were when he was alive. This Dutch philosopher was one of the three great representatives of 18th century rationalism.

The way of thinking of Baruch Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza’s sayings are mainly about values. His thinking was a mixture of Descartesian rationalism, scholastic philosophy, and Judaism. According to him, we can strictly identify the logical and try to reconcile reason and religion.

Although Spinoza spoke the great truths of his time, he was expelled from many places. He was even considered heretical, and some suggested he was a pioneer of atheism. Let’s get to know his thinking a little more through some of his quotes.

Repentance

This is one of those sayings of Baruch Spinoza who, despite being written almost three centuries ago, has not lost its validity today. It is about the inner suffering of people. He said, “He who repents of what he does is twice as miserable or impotent”.

Like other philosophers, Spinoza believed repentance was completely useless. It adds to the importance of the misconduct that caused these feelings. For this reason, instead of letting repentance take you, it’s better to try to correct things and learn from your mistakes.

Past

Spinoza agreed with other thinkers who warned of the dangers of the past. He was of the opinion that if you don’t intervene in events that have happened in your past, you are likely to constantly repeat those events in your head.

Spinoza said, “If you want the present to be different from the past, explore the past”. He acknowledged that mistakes often recur over and over again if they are not understood and addressed. In fact, if someone makes the same mistake two or three times, they simply haven’t caught it.

Fear

Spinoza pondered superstition. He said, “Superstition is born, preserved and promoted by fear” . As you know, superstition is an unfounded belief that speaks for magical or supernatural reasons.

At the heart of such a belief is ignorance and, above all, fear. Ignorance leads to fear and then superstition. For example, when someone is worried about their future and he or she tries to use cards or divination gaps to figure out what is going to happen to him or her.

Accuracy and errors

Spinoza said, “Most mistakes just consist of us not using the right names for things”. In this case, he meant that the inaccuracy of the words we used is a constant source of error.

Therefore, if you can’t name something correctly, you distort its reality and you don’t understand it. Distortion leads to misunderstanding.

Everything matters

One of Spinoza’s sayings was, “There is nothing that by nature would not have any effect”. This seems to be a simple statement, but it is really profound. It suggests that everything is important no matter how small and insignificant it may seem.

Therefore, everything that exists has an effect. Big or small, significant or trivial, but it always causes a consequence. This means that everything around you makes some impact on what happens in your life. This is worth remembering.

Lack of love

This is a great saying that speaks to the essence of love. Spinoza said, “For a quarrel never arises because of that which is not loved; and there will be no sorrow if it disappears; nor is envy if it is in the possession of another, nor fear or hatred. In a word, no mental disorders ”.          

This means that only when love prevails do other feelings arise, even if they are negative. On the other hand, when there is no love, there is nothing. Thus, feelings such as jealousy, fear, and rejection arise only out of love.

We could fill many lines with Baruch Spinoza’s ideas. He was a very prolific thinker, held today at a higher level than in his own time.