of thing and are only aware of our own desire to pursue what is useful to us. Given this tendency to see human behavior as willful and purposeful, we continue by imposing willful purposes on events outside of us. We conclude that God willingly guides external events for our benefit. The hitter believes that God caused the ball to be left out over the plate when this is simply not the case. Spinoza continues that God does not act form a purpose and the concept of a perfect final goal is flawed. For Spinoza, the most perfect of Gods acts are those closest to him. Succeeding events further down the chain of perfection are increasingly less perfect. If the hitters swing is near to God then it is more perfect but if it is far from God then it is less perfect. Belief in final causes, that God meant the home run to be hit so that a certain team would win, compromises Gods perfection since it implies that he desires something which he lacks. For Spinoza, the theologians contention that God willfully directs all natural events amounts to a reduction to ignorance. The baseball game may be a part of God, but God did not cause it to happen in a certain way. ...
