Introduction to Spinoza and His Theory of Love

Noa Lahav Ayalon

Every chapter in the course, with links to the moment it begins in the video and in the transcript. For topics across all courses, see the Topic Index.

Lecture 1 Why God and Nature Are One

Introduction to the Lecture Series on Spinoza

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The Scientific Revolution and the Crisis of Truth

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Truth, Religion, and the Rise of Empirical Knowledge

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Rationalists vs. Empiricists and Certainty

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The Ethics: Structure and Geometrical Method

▶︎ 10:35 transcript ↗︎

What Is a Definition? Intelligibility and Negation

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Rationalism, Certainty, and the Human Drive for Truth

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Understanding vs. Dominating Nature: Francis Bacon

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Causa Sui: Collapsing Cause and Effect

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Causa Sui vs. Biblical Creation

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Medieval Philosophy and Spinoza's Radical Break

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Atheism, Morality, and Why He Wrote The Ethics

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Substance: The Foundation of Existence

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Attributes: Thought and Extension

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Modes: Finite Things and the Mind-Body Unity

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God as Substance and Nature: Deus Sive Natura

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Determinism, Necessity, and Rejecting Free Will

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Overview: The Five Parts of The Ethics

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Lecture 2 The Mind Is the Body's Idea

Recap: God, Nature, and Parallelism

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Why Free Will Feels Essential to Who We Are

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Descartes' Doubt, the Cogito, and Dualism

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How Cartesian Dualism Shapes Our World Today

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The Mind Is the Idea of the Body

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The Physical Digression: How Bodies Work

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Motion, Rest, and What Keeps Things Alive

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Postulates on the Human Body

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Ideas in Proportion: The Mind's Inner Life

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What a Healthy Mind Looks Like

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Spinoza's Theory of Knowledge

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First Kind of Knowledge: Imagination

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Second Kind of Knowledge: Rational Thought

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Third Kind of Knowledge: Intuition

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Intuitive vs. Discursive Knowledge

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Adequate and Inadequate Ideas in Practice

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Conatus: The Drive to Persevere in Being

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Lecture 3 Joy, Sadness, and the Power to Act

Conatus as Essence and Desire

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Platonic vs. Aristotelian Ethics and Mind-Body

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Harmony vs. Conflict in Ethical Action

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Desire as Conscious Conatus and Affect Defined

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Actions vs. Passions: Passion Means Suffering

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Joy, Sadness, and the Dynamics of Power

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Mental Life, Longevity, and Understanding

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Three Kinds of Knowledge and Will as Intellect

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Imagination, Rationality, and Adequate Causation

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The Myth of Individuality and Independence

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Pathological Individuation and Bondage

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Good, Evil, and Naturalized Morality

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Social Dimension of Affect and Emotional Contagion

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Competition, Early Development, and Recovery

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Virtue, Power, and Mutual Flourishing

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The Wise Person's Way of Living

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Love and the Imperative to Know Thyself

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Lecture 4 Love as an Expansion of Self

Love as the Most Important Affect

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Defining Love and Hate in the Ethics

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Love as Expansion of the Self

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Self-Love and External vs. Internal Causes

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How Love Constitutes Beauty

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Possessive Love and Stages of Knowledge

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Rational Love as Friendship and Nobility

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Jealousy: The Dark Side of Love

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Hate, Anger, and Overcoming Hate with Love

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Navigating Life with Irrational People

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Freedom, Imagination, and Why We Love It

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Actions vs. Passions: Structure of Part Three

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How Affects Differ Between Individuals

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Strength of Character: Tenacity and Nobility

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Friendship, the Golden Rule, and the State

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Overcoming Passions: Maxims and Practice

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The Road to Intellectual Love of God

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Understanding as Love of God

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The Erotic Ladder: Onion vs. Climbing

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Intellectual Love of God and Salvation

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