Spinoza's substance monism demonstrates that a single infinite substance with infinite attributes—neither purely mental nor material—satisfies classical criteria for substantiality (self-causation, necessary existence) without privileging mind.

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Necessary existence(Contrasted with contingent existence in discussion of God's mode of being): Existence that is not contingent; the being does not just happen to exist or not exist.
Privileging mind(what Spinoza's theory avoids doing): Treating the mind or consciousness as more fundamental, special, or important than the physical world.
Self-causation(Spinoza's key idea about how things work): When something causes itself to exist or be the way it is, rather than being caused by something external; also called 'causa sui.'
Spinoza: Baruch Spinoza was a 17th-century Dutch philosopher who argued that God and nature are the same thing, and that everything in the universe is interconnected as one unified whole. He believed that understanding how things work through reason and logic—rather than through emotion or superstition—leads to happiness and freedom. His ideas were revolutionary for his time and continue to influence modern philosophy, theology, and how we think about the relationship between mind and body.

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