This philosopher's rejection of the idea that the Israelites were "chosen" makes it unsurprising that he was excommunicated by the Jewish community of Amsterdam.
In one work, this philosopher claims that if "two individuals of the entirely same nature" joined together, they would make a composite individual twice as powerful as each one alone. Another work by this thinker calls sensory perception "knowledge of the first kind" and claims things are only good in so far as they help one enjoy the "intellectual life." He argued in another work that freedom of speech is politically prudent because people get more rebellious when their own opinions are suppressed in a work whose "principal purpose" was to separate (*) faith from philosophy. This philosopher's rejection of the idea that the Israelites were "chosen" makes it unsurprising that he was excommunicated by the Jewish community of Amsterdam. For 10 points, name this author of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus who took a geometrical approach in his Ethics.
In one work, this philosopher claims that if "two individuals of the entirely same nature" joined together, they would make a composite individual twice as powerful as each one alone.
Baruch Spinoza