... radical figure of seventeenth century philosopher, Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who influenced Enlightenment thought throughout Europe as part of an international ideological movement. While only the most radical thinkers accepted his ideas, even the more conservative, who rejected Spinoza's atheism and materialism, could not avoid having to answer him. Spinoza highlighted the tensions of enlightenment. In ... run in correct order, while remaining in the background, taking a passive role. Many have referred to God as a "clockmaker,"" including the very influential Benjamin Franklin. Spin...

• Word Count: 2438
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , Einstein nonetheless always maintained a pious sentiment of inspired religious devotion. He identified very closely with the seventeenth-century Dutch Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, who rejected the traditional theistic concept of God in favor of an impersonal cosmic order. Spinoza believed that the universe is governed by a mechanical and mathematical order such that all events in nature occur according to immutable laws ... of cause and effect. He held that God is devoid of ethical properties and therefore does not reward or punish human behavior. Einstein, who studied Spinoza's ...

• Word Count: 1288
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... be discovered. Descartes assumed that these self-evident truths were innate, not derived from experience. This type of rationalism was developed by other European philosophers, such as the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Descartes" theories were opposed, however, by British philosophers of the empiricist tradition, such as John Locke, who believed that all ideas ... from the senses. Empiricist traditions stemmed off into other forms of Enlightenment thought, such as epistemological rationalism, the philosophy that ...

• Word Count: 2321
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... be discovered. Descartes assumed that these self-evident truths were innate, not derived from experience. This type of rationalism was developed by other European philosophers, such as the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Descartes" theories were opposed, however, by British philosophers of the empiricist tradition, such as John Locke, who believed that all ideas ... from the senses. Empiricist traditions stemmed off into other forms of Enlightenment thought, such as epistemological rationalism, the philosophy that ...

• Word Count: 2303
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate