The Dialectic of Transcendence and Immanence in Modern Philosophy: Spinoza’s Critique of Aristotelian Origin and Cartesian Principles of Divine Transcendence

Abstract

The article tackles the problematic “dialectic of transcendence and immanence in modern philosophy”, based on a comparative approach between the Christian theological perception and its Aristotelian background; Cartesian philosophy and its modern scientific reference; and Spinoza’s Ethics. The article highlights the stakes for the different conceptions: defence of religion (for Christianity); separating God from nature in order to make belief more scientifically comprehensible (for Descartes); and rationalizing theism (for Spinoza).