Description
This paper aims to show that Baruch Spinoza did not believe in miracles or the supernatural and argues that his position logically overcomes the evidence of those who do believe in these things. Spinoza believed the experience that would be labeled as a miracle to be an uncommon act of Nature that does not conflict with its laws and order. His “miracle” has an explanation through the set laws of Nature but is not yet scientifically understood. The “miracle” is examined through the rational philosophy of Spinoza, a comparative study on the existence of miracles through the empirical philosophy of David Hume, and several articles and films that explore the miracle theories of Spinoza that argue miracles may exist. Spinoza believed the supernatural to be a construct of the imagination, and the paper applies this line of reasoning using Spinoza’s Letters on ghosts and omens to prove the so-called supernatural to be a part of the workings of the mind. Examples of putative present-day miracles, ghost experiences, and omens are provided to illustrate that some believe them to be real and not an illusion. Spinoza believed miracles were not a part of Nature and that belief in ghosts or omens was nothing more than an active part of the imagination. It can be argued that his opinion surmounts the protestations of those who do believe in miracles, ghosts, and omens. Miracles have no reality other than being a part of the perception of the mind, which is a part of the divine and natural order of God.
