Editing Baruch Spinoza (section)

=====Causality=====
Although the [[principle of sufficient reason]] is commonly associated with [[Gottfried Leibniz]], Spinoza employs it in a more systematic manner. In Spinoza's philosophical framework, questions concerning why a particular phenomenon exists are always answerable, and these answers are provided in terms of the relevant cause. Spinoza's approach involves first providing an account of a phenomenon, such as goodness or consciousness, to explain it, and then further explaining the phenomenon in terms of itself. For instance, he might argue that consciousness is the degree of power of a mental state.{{sfn|Della Rocca|2008|p=30}}

Spinoza has also been described as an "[[Epicureanism|Epicurean]] materialist",<ref name="tws9912" /> specifically in reference to his opposition to Cartesian mind-body dualism. This view was held by Epicureans before him, as they believed that atoms with their probabilistic paths were the only substance that existed fundamentally.<ref name="Konstan">{{Cite SEP|last=Konstan|first=David|url-id=epicurus|title=Epicurus|date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Curley|1996|p=118}} Spinoza, however, deviated significantly from Epicureans by adhering to strict determinism, much like the Stoics before him, in contrast to the Epicurean belief in the probabilistic path of atoms, which is more in line with contemporary thought on [[quantum mechanics]].<ref name="Konstan" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Baruch Spinoza, "Human Beings are Determined"|url=http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/spinoza.shtml|access-date=21 February 2017|work=Lander.edu}}</ref>