Final answer:
Spinoza's double-aspect theory describes the material and the mind as intertwined and connected aspects of a single infinite substance, which is God or Nature.
Step-by-step explanation:
Baruch Spinoza, contrary to Cartesian dualism, advanced the double-aspect theory where he posited that the material world and the realm of the mind are not two separate substances but rather two intertwined and connected aspects of a single substance. This substance, in his view, is God or Nature, serving as the universal essence of everything that exists. Spinoza agreed with Descartes in that the world of consciousness (mind) and that of extension (body) are qualitatively different; however, he rejected the notion that they represented two finite substances. Instead, he believed these to be attributes of only one infinite substance.
Therefore, in answer to the student's question about how Spinoza explained the material and the world of the mind: b. He argued that they were intertwined and connected. Mental occurrences can determine only other mental occurrences and physical motions only other physical motions, but they are in a pre-established coordination because they are manifested within the same divine essence.