Leibniz's philosophy - the theory of monads

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Leibniz is a unique scientist and mathematician, lawyer and philosopher. He was born and lived in Germany. He is now called one of the brightest representatives of modern times in the field of philosophy. It is believed that the philosophy of Leibniz has the direction of rationalism. It is based on two main problems: knowledge and substance.

Descartes and Spinoza

Leibniz's philosophy includes many concepts. Before creating his "brainchild", Leibniz thoroughly studied the theories of Spinoza and Descartes. The German philosopher came to the conclusion that they are imperfect and completely rational. Thus was born the idea of creating Leibniz's own philosophy.

Leibniz refuted Descartes' theory of dualism, which was based on the division of substances into higher and lower. The first meant independent substances, that is, God and those whom he created. The lower division meant material and spiritual creatures.

Spinoza once combined all substances into one, thereby also proving the inaccuracy of dualism. However, the philosophy of Leibniz showed that the modes of a single substance of Spinoza are nothing but a dualismDescartes.

This is how the philosophy of Leibniz appeared, which can be briefly called this: the theory of the plurality of substances.

The simplicity and complexity of monads

Monad is simple and complex at the same time. The philosophy of Leibniz not only does not explain the nature of these contradictions, but also strengthens it: absolute simplicity, and infinite complexity. In general, a monad is an essence, something spiritual. It cannot be touched or felt. A striking example is the human soul, which is simple, that is, indivisible, and complex, that is, rich and diverse.

Essence of the monad

The philosophy of GW Leibniz argues that the monad is an independent substance, which is characterized by strength, movement and speed. However, each of these concepts cannot be characterized from the material side, which means that the monad itself is not a material entity.

Monad individuality

Each monad is exceptionally individual and original. Leibniz's philosophy succinctly states that all objects have distinctions and differences. The basis of the theory of monads is the principle of indistinguishability identity.

Leibniz himself quite simply explained this position of his theory. Most often, he cited an ordinary tree with leaves as an example and asked the audience to find two identical leaves. Of course, there were none. From this followed a logical conclusion about a qualitative approach to the world, the individuality of each of the objects, both material and psychological.

Basedphilosophy of modern times, Leibniz was a prominent representative of it, speaking about the significance of the unconscious in our lives. Leibniz emphasized that we are controlled by infinitesimal phenomena that we experience on an unconscious level. From this the principle of gradualism follows logically. It represents the law of continuity and states that transitions from one object or event to another proceed monotonously and continuously.

Monad closedness

Leibniz's philosophy included such a concept as isolation. The philosopher himself often emphasized that the monad is closed on itself, that is, it does not have any channels through which something can enter or leave it. In other words, there is no possibility to contact any monad. So is the human soul. She has no visible contacts other than God.

Mirror of the Universe

Leibniz's philosophy emphasized that the monad is simultaneously limited from everything and connected with everything. Duality is traced throughout the theory of monads.

Leibniz said that the monad fully reflects what is happening. In other words, small changes in general entail the smallest changes in the monad itself. Thus the idea of pre-established harmony was born. That is, the monad is alive, and its we alth is an infinitely simple unity.

Conclusions

The philosophy of Leibniz, like each of his principles, is unusually clear at first glance and multifaceted if you delve into it. It also explains our understanding ofsomething and the content of our life from its psychic side.

The presentation is given in spiritual form, which is the nature of the monad. Any object can be called monads, however, the differences will appear in the clarity and distinctness of the representation. For example, a stone is a vague monad, and God is a monad of all monads.

Our world is a monad, which consists of monads. And apart from them there is nothing else. Our world is the only one possible, and therefore the best. Each monad lives its own life in accordance with the program that God the Creator put into it. These programs are completely different, but their consistency is amazing. Every event on our earth is coordinated.

Leibniz's philosophy succinctly states that we live the best life possible in a better world. The theory of monads allows us to believe that we are the chosen ones.