The Problem of Evil and Spinoza

A Theologico-Political Solution

Abstract

Since René Descartes (1596-1650) closely connected the laws of nature with God’s volition, the contradiction between “evils in nature” and “good God” who even wills evil emerged. While the French philosopher himself disregarded this contradiction, many early modern thinkers saw this as the problem of evil and offered various solutions. The seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) is one of them. However, no study consistently has dealt with Spinoza’s discussion of the problem of evil. In order to understand Spinoza’s position more clearly and comprehensively, the present paper first analyzes his epistolary encounters with the amateur philosopher-theologian Willem van Blijenbergh (1632-1696) between the years 1664-1665. Then the paper focuses on Spinoza’s Ethics (1677) and its pertinent sections on evil to clarify the difference between the respective positions of Jewish philosopher and the traditional philosophical schools. Finally, the paper deals with his Tractatus theologico-politicus (1670) to locate Spinoza’s solution to the problem in his theory of politics.