ignored when distinguishing substances because substance is itself a priori to
modes, therefore modes change the attribute not the substance itself. However,
it is important to note at this point that according to Spinoza attributes can be
eternal, such as those of extension and thought, and substance would eternally
exist with these essences.
This fifth proposition proves a vital component of Spinoza’s concept of
God as being the sole substance, as in proposition 14 Spinoza states “God is the
only substance that can exist or be conceived”. Due to the nature of Spinoza’s
definition of substance as God, it is necessary for God to have an infinity of
attributes, as everything is substance and therefore God logically includes all
attributes. This means that no separate substance can be conceived of as having
attributes that God does not, and therefore logically all substance is identical to
‘part’ of the substance of God. Spinoza further attempts to prove this with
proposition 9 where he identifies greater level of reality to substances with more
attributes, as more attributes mean more essence are thereby more essential or
‘real’, and none have more attributes and therefore reality than God itself. By
this account Spinoza denies the existence of more than one God as another God
would have to have either all the same attributes as God and thereby be identical
to God, or have less than the infinite attributes of God and thereby be less then
God itself.
In Nadler’s 2006 commentary on Spinoza’s Ethics, he reiterates an
objection made to the fifth proposition by Spinoza’s contemporary, Leibniz, who
claims “There seems to be a concealed fallacy here. For two substances can be
distinguished by their attributes and still have some common attribute, provided
they also have others peculiar to themselves in addition” (Leibniz, G. 1768).
Nadler explains that Leibniz’s claim is that, controversially to Spinoza’s claim, a
substance can be distinguished by its attributes if it has many attributes and yet
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