Compare Spinoza’s idea of Substance with Descartes’ and Locke’s idea of Substance.

Spinoza, Descartes, and Locke, influential philosophers of the 17th century, offered distinct perspectives on the concept of substance, a foundational idea in metaphysics concerning the fundamental nature of reality.

Spinoza's Idea of Substance:
Baruch Spinoza, in his philosophical masterpiece "Ethics," proposed a monistic and pantheistic view of substance. For Spinoza, there is only one substance in the universe, which he identified as God or Nature. This singular, infinite substance possesses infinite attributes, with thought and extension being the two attributes accessible to human understanding. In Spinoza's pantheism, everything in the universe is a mode or modification of this singular substance, and individual entities are expressions of the same divine essence.

Descartes' Idea of Substance:
René Descartes, a pivotal figure in modern philosophy, held a dualistic view of substance, distinguishing between mind (res cogitans) and body (res extensa). In his "Meditations," Descartes posited that the mind and body are distinct substances with different essential attributes: thought for the mind and extension for the body. The interaction between mind and body, however, presented a challenge in Descartes' philosophy, as he struggled to explain how the immaterial mind could causally interact with the material body.

Locke's Idea of Substance:
John Locke, an empiricist philosopher, took a more moderate approach to substance. In his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding," Locke rejected the concept of innate ideas and argued that substances are not known directly but through the qualities (primary and secondary) they exhibit. Unlike Spinoza and Descartes, Locke did not posit a single, underlying substance with infinite attributes. Instead, substances, for Locke, were collections of qualities that held together in a stable manner, providing a more empirical and pragmatic foundation for his epistemology.

In summary, while Spinoza advocated for a monistic, pantheistic view with a singular substance expressing infinite attributes, Descartes upheld a dualistic perspective, positing two distinct substances (mind and body). Locke, on the other hand, took a more empirical stance, emphasizing that substances are known through the qualities they manifest, rejecting the innate and foundational role assigned to substance by both Spinoza and Descartes. These diverse views highlight the richness of 17th-century metaphysical discourse and its impact on subsequent philosophical developments.