Substance
One of Spinoza’s most surprising claims about substance is that it pertains to the nature of a substance to exist. What does this mean and why does Spinoza’ believe it? This chapter begins by situating Spinoza’s concept of substance in historical context by explaining the Aristotelian and Cartesian concepts of substance. Next, Spinoza’s argument for the claim that it pertains to the nature of a substance to exist is reconstructed and discussed step by step. Particular attention is paid to the connection that Spinoza sees between causation and similarity: one thing causes another only if they are similar to each other (that is, they share an attribute). Other issues considered in detail include Spinoza’s claim that no two substances can share an attribute and whether a world devoid of substance would involve a vicious regress with respect to being.