Nature, Thought, Soul

Spinoza's attribution of Thought and Extension to one and the same substance, God/Nature, is a direct response to Descartes' attribution of them to two distinct substances, Mind and Body, with Nature restricted to the latter.  Descartes, reflecting his Theological orientation, also diverges significantly from Plato and Aristotle by identifying Mind and Soul, thereby eliminating the animal and vegetative divisions of the Soul.  The result is a concept of Nature and its parts as inanimate machines, a thesis that soon gains great influence via Newton's adoption of it.  In sharp contrast, Spinoza attributes both Mind and Body to all parts of Nature, distinguished by degree of complexity, and, thus, by implication, animation to all those parts, thereby repudiating the Cartesian/Newtonian concept of Nature and its parts as mere machines.  Now, Spinoza's attribution of Thought to Nature has hardly gained wide currency over the centuries.  But that e. g. dogs and trees are now generally accepted to be intelligent living beings is an example of the general assimilation of at least some of his doctrine.