# God or nature (causality execution environment) Spinoza's Ethics 1.3 · essay 4 of 21 · by Reza Khosravivala · published 2024-05-16 · updated 2026-09-12 Canonical: https://rezakhosravi.com/essays/god-or-nature/ (this Markdown edition: https://rezakhosravi.com/essays/god-or-nature/index.md) Summary: Spinoza's view on God, Nature, and Universe Topics: Spinoza, God, Nature, Universe, Ethics Originally on: Medium (https://medium.com/@mrez9090/spinoza-ethics-1-0-god-or-nature-causality-execution-environment-e76764a32e6d); mamzi.net (archived on GitHub) (https://github.com/mreza0100/mamzi.net.github.io) Previous: 1.2 Building Blocks (https://rezakhosravi.com/essays/building-blocks/index.md) Next: 1.4 Causality (https://rezakhosravi.com/essays/causality/index.md) In this post as the first one of this series, I want to explore Spinoza’s concept of **God or Nature**. Spinoza’s God is not the traditional personal deity who stands apart from creation, but rather the **entirety of existence** itself, what Spinoza calls **substance**. I will discuss what this means, how this substance expresses itself through **attributes**, how the universe operates through the laws of **causality**, and finally, how all this fits within our understanding of **causes** and **infinity**. ![Painting of a huge bearded stone face over a forest, with planets, a rainbow, animals and a stream](https://rezakhosravi.com/img/essays/god-or-nature/01.webp) Understanding all these took time for me and I know it is confusing at the beginning, but if you give it time and look at it from the lens of reality, you will soon find a unique intuitive worldview in which you find the reflection in reality. God or nature is the very essence of everything in the system, without Nature, time and space would not have existed, no life would have been possible, and therefore you would not be reading this. The traditional sense that is common of nature and God is as creation and creator, but Spinoza’s God is one and the same as nature, in a way that all exist in nature, which is self-caused, infinitely continues so there is no end of it. Nature is the cause of itself, and also the very cause of the existence of everything inside of it. God or Nature, being one and the same thing, is the whole, infinite, eternal, necessarily existing, active system of the universe within which absolutely everything exists. This is the fundamental principle of Ethics. *I do not try to convince you of anything, but you need to logically know what God means in this context to continue the rest of the blog.* **Nothing here is personal; everything is logical..** Spinoza defined all the words from the ground up, the word God, does not have the same meaning in English or the concept you might think of. ## Nature It's equal to Universe, which I explained in [Universe](https://rezakhosravi.com/essays/universe/) page. ## Spinoza definition of God Spinoza's God is fairly famous, but it's not well understood. ![Albert Einstein in the back of a car, hair wild, sticking his tongue out at the camera](https://rezakhosravi.com/img/essays/god-or-nature/02.webp) *Albert* When they asked [Albert Einstein](https://nds-nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein) if he believed in God, he said: > I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. If Spinoza's God was good enough for Einstein, it's gonna be also good enough for me and you! Spinoza was looking at God, as the nature itself. God to him, is the creator of everything. God is the cause of everything. God is the essence of everything. God is the reason of cause and effect. God is what makes existence possible. God is what sits between cause and effect and makes it possible in the way it should happen. - What is controlling your heart to beat? - It's a complex great number of cause and effect that makes it beat. - What makes cause and effect possible? Nature It's interesting, when you think about it, it seems like he knew about the Darwinism theory before Darwin, but he was not talking about the evolution of species, he was talking about the evolution of everything, which we are part of it. ## Substance To see how this works, we need 3 words that Spinoza uses precisely: substance, mode, and attribute. Substance in the system is one single thing seen in 3 ways, to indicate they are one and the same thing, those 3 are: - Nature itself - Nature under extension, which is what all bodies are modes of - Nature under thought, which is what all minds are modes of Later on in causality, we see how the same universal laws run through all of nature to make conclusions with them… The substance is the thing that all these molecules are modes of, the one and the same thing that changes from one form to another. ## (Mode or state) and transformation Mode is the state of substance. For example, water. Water changes from form to form, it can transform under conditioned causes, no matter what form, the underlying molecules are the same, it's the mode or state that is changing. The same goes for everything else in nature, including the mind/brain. So, therefore, as substance is in its current mode, and if substance transforms but does not vanish out of existence, therefore it has existed since the beginning of time in other modes, and will always be part of God. > [>[1.P21]](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P21): All things which follow from the absolute nature of any attribute of God must always exist and be infinite, or, in other words, are eternal and infinite through the said attribute. ## Attributes Attribute is what God possesses as its reality. There are infinite attributes that God can possess, and only 2 of them are named in the book: - Physical world - Mind The physical world is where reality is being possessed, and the mind, as a second attribute, runs in parallel with it, and therefore possesses consciousness. They have been considered 2 different attributes by what they possess, for the physical world, a substance is possessing a physical mode, but the mind possesses a mental state, which is an idea. Just like how an idea doesn’t belong to the physical world (it exists in the mind), and a physical thing cannot move to the mind, they are 2 different environments with different characteristics. > [>[1.D4]](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1D4) By attribute, I understand that which the intellect perceives of substance as constituting its essence. Our mind can understand the physical world, and itself separately. > [>[1.P9](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P9)] The more reality or being a thing has, the greater the number of its attributes. ![Diagram of God or Nature branching into the attributes of extension and mind, each with its own mode](https://rezakhosravi.com/img/essays/god-or-nature/03.png) *Map of reality* We can see how God possesses its reality through the extension attribute, and how the attribute of mind runs in parallel with it, with a different characteristic. How the substance word is reserved for all 5 of them in the map above, to indicate they are one and the same, being whole or part. And how the mode/state of each attribute differs one from another. Back to God: > [>[1P14]](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P14) Besides God, no substance can be granted or conceived. God is one and the same with Nature. No nature or substance = no reality, because there would be nothing for anything to be in. nature or substance -> reality. Therefore everything else can exist and be conceived, as a way that substance is, not as something sitting inside a box. So, where do we stand in relation to God? **We are not separate from God but are finite expressions (modes) of the infinite substance that is God or Nature**. Our minds and bodies are simply temporary modes through which God’s eternal attributes of thought and extension are expressed. The more we understand how everything, including our own lives, follows from the laws of God or Nature, the more we align with the universe’s necessary order. In this sense, **we achieve freedom not by escaping the laws of nature but by fully embracing and understanding them.** > [> [1P25]](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P25): Individual things are nothing but modifications of the attributes of God, or modes by which the attributes of God are expressed in a fixed and definite manner. So, therefore: - God is the infinite extended substance inside which all other extended things (finite modes) exist in a particular mode. - Everything inside God (all the substance) is part of God - God possesses attributes that render modes. ### Who are we? Do you agree that you come from nature? Where have you been 100 years ago? you have been part of the nature somewhere, somehow in some distributed form that you can't imagine (which is called modifications or mode). Where will you be 100 years later? you will be part of the nature, but in a different form, which he calls modifications. But before and after, we all been part of nature, just like the door. - Modifications or mode: We can think of it as the state of being. The state or mode of mind is idea, the state or mode in physical is substance which is part of the nature and it changes shape and form, but it's still part of the nature. - Fixed and definite manner: means that you are part of the nature, but in a specific way, which is unique to you, and all the other things in the nature also have their own unique way of being part of the nature. ## God = Nature = Universe = Reality, and the door and you are in it For Spinoza, God was the nature itself, as one unified field, which is called substance. We are part of the Nature, so we are part of God. But, for Spinoza, you and the door are both modes of the one substance, because you are part of the nature, and the door is also part of the nature, so you and the door are part of the same thing, which he calls God. So, don't think that you are God; you are part of God just as much as the door is. > [2P10](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/2P10) The being of substance does not appertain to the essence of man, in other words, substance does not constitute the actual being of man. ## Difference between You, the door, and the God There is no difference in kind between you and the door, both are modes of the one substance, and God is what they are modes of. The first 2 are part of the nature, and the last one is the nature itself. I say door because I have seen people who think all of us are God by Spinoza's definition, but it's not the case, we are part of the nature as much as everything else as one united field, which he calls God. I strongly don't think if Spinoza meant that we are God, we are part of nature, as much as everything else. In many sentences in your day to day life, you can easily change the word "God" with "Nature" and it will still make sense. - God is the creator of everything - Nature is the creator of everything - God is the cause of everything - Nature is the cause of everything - God is the essence of everything - Nature is the essence of everything - We all come from God - We all come from Nature - God is the reason of existence - Nature is the reason of existence - God is self caused and no one created it - Nature is self caused and no one created it - When we die, we go back to God - When we die, we go back to Nature ## Definition by Spinoza's logic > [1P6](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1D6) By God, I mean a being absolutely infinite, that is, a substance consisting in infinite attributes, of which each expresses eternal and infinite essentiality. - Being absolutely infinite: Not limited by anything, it's infinite. - Substance: It's the nature itself, not what everything is built from, but what everything is a state of. - Attributes: It's the characteristics of the substance, which is the nature itself. - Eternal and infinite essentiality: Refers to essence of nature, its self cause, it's essential for it be eternal and infinite. it's infinitely essential to be eternal and infinite. By God, Spinoza means an absolutely infinite and not limited by anything. A substance being with infinite attributes each expose eternal essentiality (it's infinitely essential to exist eternally). God is the underlying reality of everything, nothing can conceive without God, because everything is part of God. Attribute and substance do not have the same meaning as you think, if you are curious about it, you can read more about it here: [Building blocks of our universe](https://rezakhosravi.com/essays/building-blocks/) > [1P14](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P14) Except God, no substance can be or be conceived. If you change the word "substance" with "Nature" and "conceived" with "imagined", it will make more sense. Continuing with the definition of God: > [1P25](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P25) God is the efficient cause not only of the existence of things but also of their essence. God is the reason of existence and it's the essence of everything. He was looking at all the nature as the same unified field, us and everything else in the nature are part of the same thing, which he calls God. For Spinoza, God was the nature itself. And everything inside the nature is part of the nature, which is part of God. > [1P15](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P15) Whatever is, is in God, and nothing can be or be conceived without God. Everything that exist, is part of the nature, so it's part of God. Everything that can be conceived, is part of the nature, so it's part of God. It's impossible to think of something that is not part of the nature, so everything is part of God. ## God in other religions In other religions, God is a separate entity from the nature. Most of the times, god has a human form, with perfect human characteristics like: - Being able to talk - Being able to see - Being able to hear - Being able to think - Being able to judge - Being able to make decisions - Being able to be merciful - Being able to know everything - Being able to manipulate the nature - Being able to feel angry, happy, sad and all the other human emotions Unlike what they say, it doesn't seem that God is a separate entity from nature, but it's one of us, it's the best of us with infinite power. Meanwhile it's somewhere that we can't see it because it's not part of the nature, but it's the creator of the nature. ### How would the god of sharks look like for them? If sharks had a religion, how would their god look like? They have some sort of specific abilities that we don't have. The God of sharks might be the fastest swimmer, with the best sense of smell, and the best hunter, and the best survivor, and the best reproducer, and the best of all the other things that sharks are good at. But our God doesn't have any of these abilities, because it's not a shark, it's a human. It's abstraction of us, but with infinite power. ## God cannot be separated of nature > [1P2](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P2): "Two substances having different attributes have nothing in common with one another." - Replace the word "substance" with "Nature" and "attributes" with "characteristics" and it will make more sense. **Two natures having different characteristics have nothing in common with each other.** It's over simplified and it lose some of the meaning, but it's easier to understand this way. Spinoza was holding the idea of a unified reality/field and no separate creator. For example: because an idea can't be touched, it has nothing in common with the physical world, so there is nothing common between the idea and the physical world, but one conceived through the other, which is mind conceived through the physical world. It's impossible to think of nature that is not part of the nature. So a God who created the universe, who is in a shape or form that we can't imagine because of it's nature, has nothing to do with the nature, because it's not part of the nature. > [1P14](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P14) Except God(Nature), no substance can be or be conceived. Because everything that exist is part of the nature, then nothing outside nature can be conceived. Which makes sense, is your mind able to conceive something that is not part of the nature? I can't. Yes you can imagine star wars, but it's part of the nature, because it's in your mind, which is part of the nature. ## Cause and effect Causality is the easiest way to universally model how God works. By causality, I understand the will of God, which we shall see what it is and how it works. > [> [1A3]](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1A3): From a given definite cause an effect necessarily follows; and, on the other hand, if no definite cause be granted, it is impossible that an effect can follow. Consider dominoes: the first one falls to the second, the second to the third, and so on. If one of the dominoes fails to continue the chain, the next one can't continue. So anything that happens happens because of a cause, it's impossible that something happens out of nothing, and also on the other hand, it's impossible if the effect doesn’t follow from the cause. In short words: - Every single event no matter what has causes that made it happen - The causes of that effect had their own causes which made them happen - The causes of those causes had their own causes, and so on with no first one ![Circles branching out from one marked the beginning of God into chains of later circles along a time arrow](https://rezakhosravi.com/img/essays/god-or-nature/04.png) > > [[1P28]](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P28): Every individual thing, or everything which is finite and has a conditioned existence, cannot exist or be conditioned to act, unless it be conditioned for existence and action by a cause other than itself, which also is finite, and has a conditioned existence; and likewise this cause cannot in its turn exist, or be conditioned to act, unless it be conditioned for existence and action by another cause, which also is finite, and has a conditioned existence, and so on to infinity. Now with that said, let's change an event. To change an event you need to change the causes that made it happen, for changing those causes we need to change the causes of the effective cause, and so on back without end, the proposition above says this chain goes to infinity. Therefore, to change anything, we need to change everything that caused it, which isn’t possible, because every link follows necessarily from what nature is. No matter if our event is in the past or future, it cannot be changed because of this matter. > [> [1P17]:](https://ethica.bc.edu/#/element/1P17) God acts solely by the laws of his own nature, and is not constrained by anyone ## The beauty of Spinoza’s God and how it possesses itself So far we understand that God is the nature itself, absolutely infinite, and it doesn't apply its natural laws to nature from outside, everything follows from what it is, with no exception. Later on, we will discuss more of the **perfection of God** and how the **intellectual love of God** works. - It shows its beauty in the infinite accuracy of its divine nature. - Its infinite perfection means it does not require any expectation or practices to do, except **thinking**, which we do for ourselves and not God. - It does not have any human attributes or conception of **judgment**, **decision-making**, **punishment**, **reward**, **good/bad, and meaning.** - It does not have **free will** to act beside anything other than its own deterministic natural laws. The beauty of Spinoza’s God can be seen once the mind becomes conscious of the infinite accuracy of the divine nature. **Ultimately it becomes aware of itself, of things, and aware of God**, to take the wheel of one's own life and become the master of oneself, reaching as much freedom as one can, by moving forward on a **self-development** path to **self-awareness**. ## Conclusion Spinoza's God is the nature itself, and everything in the nature is part of the nature, which is part of God. "Deus sive Natura", God or Nature, is the same thing for Spinoza. You and the door are part of the same thing with different modes, which he calls God. Spinoza's god is different from [anthropomorphic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism) gods, which are in a human form with super powers. ### What's the same with Spinoza's God? - God is the creator of everything - God is the cause of everything - God is the essence of everything - God is the reason of existence - God is self caused and no one created it - When we die, we go back to God Almost everything else you have in mind about God, is the same with Spinoza's God, but with a different perspective. ### What's different with Spinoza's God? - God is **not** a separate entity from the nature, it's the nature itself. - God is **not** an intelligent agent, it's the cause of everything. - God doesn't know good and bad, it knows necessity. ## References [Spinoza’s Ethics, Irfan Ajvazi](https://philarchive.org/archive/AJVSE) [Spinoza's Ethics, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spinoza/#GodNatu)