Spinoza explains his belief everything in the universe is only one substance very well. His stipulation the substance and God are one in the same only adds credence to his theory. His explanation of everything in the universe being a mode of one of God’s attribute is mostly complete. His argument about the creation of modes has some weak spots, however. Spinoza contradicts himself in saying whether God himself creates modes with his own decision or if modes are simply an outcropping of his perfect attributes. Also, he states God as perfect and an already perfect entity needs no changes or extensions of his Nature, which leads to no need for modes. The rest of Ethics would have a more solid foundation for an ethical code for humans to follow if Spinoza better explained his theory of modes.

Spinoza’s idea of the universe is the theory of monism, which states everything in the universe is made of an identical and infinite, therefore unending and recyclable, substance. Monism states all different facets of the material world, such as people and things, and the immaterial world, such as thoughts and dreams, are the same single substance. Spinoza says this substance is infinite. His belief in the infinite of the substance illustrates his belief all things in the world are re-used and nothing which once existed can ever no longer exist.

Spinoza supports his argument about the necessity of a monistic universe by formulating an argument about how God and the substance are one in the same. All worldly creations--thoughts and everything else-- are simply extensions of God. For example, a table or an idea of a table is still part of the substance, but it exists in the world as a creation and a part of God. Spinoza believes that the substance and therefore all things manifested from the substance are one in the same as God and therefore of His essence. He reaffirms this claim saying his belief nothing can be apart from God and there would be no substance at all if there were no God.

Spinoza’s argument about God and the substance being the same thing supports his claim about monism as well. Because everything in existence is of God, only God in His various forms and expressions of himself exists. Therefore anything existing in the world, including another substance, outside of God is impossible.

Included in Spinoza’s theory of monism and God’s relation to it are modes and attributes, which explain how the singular substance comes to be everything in the world such as people, objects and thoughts. Spinoza says God has an infinite number of attributes. These attributes are manifested into matter and thoughts in the form of modes, otherwise known as modifications of the singular substance. God conceives of these modes, and out of the great perfection of his Nature, creates the modes in the substance, according to Spinoza in the quote from the last paragraph. However, in a seemingly contradictory statement, Spinoza states that because of God’s many attributes, they must be created in the world as well as his belief there are infinitely many modes which never are completely destroyed, only reformed into different modes.

While this theory of monism and its details is reasonable and mostly complete, Spinoza’s explanation of how modes came into being contradicts itself and doesn’t necessarily work with Spinoza’s claim God’s nature is perfect. Spinoza says God conceives of the modes of things and then creates them in the real world. However, in the quote from the last paragraph, he seems to imply because God has infinite number of attributes they must be manifested in the substance. These two statements seem to contradict each other because one states the creation of the modes is God’s conscious decision while the other states it is a necessity by His Nature, but not necessarily because he decides it will be so.

Spinoza’s explanation of the modes being caused by God’s perfect Nature as well as the compatible of modes with God’s perfect nature is also questionable. The formation of modes is also called into question because Spinoza says there is nothing in the world which is higher or more powerful than God, so only God himself and the perfection of his nature can make him perform any task. If the substance in the universe is one in the same with God and therefore part of his nature, He would have been perfect when there were no modes in the world. Also, if this were true, no modes would ever change because God’s nature is already perfect.