Abstract

Spinoza has three names. Bento built by Portuguese Jewish parents, Baruch called by friends of Jewish community, and Benetictus named himself after being expelled from a 24-year-old Jewish church. Although he lived a short life, he was as diverse as the three names. He lived with various identities as a minority Jew. He lived as minority among the minorities. His life as a minority is intermingled with his Ethica line. This article is a cultural-ecological reading of his life and ideas in Ethica. Of course, Spinoza does not comment specifically on culture itself. However, there is a critical reflection on the political and cultural hegemony of the time in Ethica. In particular, I try to read cultural ecology based on Spinoza's concept of Conatus. The reason why this article attempts a cultural ecology approach is to take a deep look at Spinoza, who is both modern and post-modern. He accuses the barbarity of dichotomy accelerated by Descartes with monism of 'deus siva natrura'. Spinoza considers the dualistic model, which became the philosophical foundation of cultural hegemony of the time, by converting it into an ecological paradigm. I look forward to meeting Spinoza from the cultural ecology perspective, who guide the path of freedom from emotional prejudice against other cultures.