G F LEIBNIZ G Leibniz 1646 1716 was

G. F. LEIBNIZ G. Leibniz (1646 – 1716) was an eminent German scientist and philosopher. He was the last representative of Modern Era and the forerunner of German Classical Philosophy. Leibniz held rationalistic positions. He was interested in problem about substance and knowledge. Along with Newton, he is thought to be one of the founders of infinitesimal calculation.

G. Leibniz arrived at the conclusion that Descartes’ and Spinoza’s theories about the substance where incomplete. He did not accepted Descartes’ theory because of latter’ dualism by which it divided substances in highest ones (God and created by Him substances), while on the other hand, all created substances are meant either material (extended) or spiritual (thinking).

At the same time, as for Leibniz, Spinoza, uniting all substances in one, did not overcome Descartes’ dualism, as far as all modes were split into two categories – extended and thinking. It means that while by Descartes we have two sorts of substances, by Spinoza we can see the same, in terms of modes of one substance.

Leibniz suggested his own theory about monades (or theory about multeplicity of substances) whose main features were: 1 - All the world consists of an uncountable quantity of substances, having not a dualist nature, but an united one. Such substances are called “monades” (from Ancient Greek language – whole, unit).

2 - The monade is a simple entity, indivisible, does not have extension, and it is not a material – corporeal formation. It is in possession of four properties: tendency, appetite, sensation and perception. 3 - As matter of fact, the monade is reality, a whole continually changing its own state, and by virtue of continuity of its existence, the monade perceive itself. 4 – Monades are totally isolated by each other (as for Leibniz they have not window, so that is not possible for something either get in or get out)

ALL MONADES ARE DIVIDED IN 4 CATEGORIES “BARE” – LAY AT THE BASE OF INORGANIC NATURE MONADES OF ANIMALS (HAVING SENSATIONS) MONADES OF HUMANS (HAVING CONSCIOUSNESS MEMORY AND INTELLECTION) GOD – THE HIGHEST MONADE

Monads are the ultimate elements of the universe. The monads are "substantial forms of being subject to their own laws, un-interacting, and each reflecting the entire universe in a pre-established harmony (a historically important example of panpsychism). Monads are centers of force; substance is force, while space, matter, and motion are merely phenomenal.

The ontological essence of a monad is its irreducible simplicity. Unlike atoms, monads possess no material or spatial character. They also differ from atoms by their complete mutual independence, so that interactions among monads are only apparent. Instead, by virtue of the principle of pre-established harmony, each monad follows a preprogrammed set of "instructions" peculiar to itself, so that monads "knows" what to do at each moment.

By virtue of these intrinsic instructions, each monad is like a little mirror of the universe. Monads need not be "small"; e. g. , each human being constitutes a monad, whose free will is problematic. Leibniz vision about monades, leads us to seven philosophical principles which have been invoked by the great German philosopher: Identity/contradiction. If a proposition is true, then its negation is false and vice versa.

Identity of indiscernibles. Two distinct things cannot have all their properties in common. If each predicate possessed by x is also possessed by y and vice versa, then entities x and y are identical; to suppose two things indiscernible is to suppose the same thing under two names. Frequently invoked in modern logic and philosophy, the "identity of indiscernibles" is often referred to as Leibniz's Law.

Sufficient reason. "There must be a sufficient reason for anything to exist, for any event to occur, for any truth to obtain. " Pre-established harmony"[T]he appropriate nature of each substance brings it about that what happens to one corresponds to what happens to all the others, without, however, their acting upon one another directly. "

Law of Continuity. Natura non facit saltus (literally, "Nature does not makes leaps"). Optimism. "God assuredly always chooses the best. " Plenitude. Leibniz believed that the best of all possible worlds would actualize every genuine possibility.

The “Optimism” that the philosopher used in the classic meaning of optimal, not optimistic was carefully studied by Leibniz in his work “Théodicée (1710) a concept philosopher coined by which he tried to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil.

Leibniz work was a sui generis answer to P. Bayle, a French philosopher arguing that there is no defensible rational solution to the problem of why God permits evil. Leibniz responds to Bayle's arguments in detail, arguing that it can be proved that God is an infinitely perfect being, and that such a being must have created a world that has the greatest possible balance of good over evil ("the best of all possible worlds").

Leibniz distinguishes three forms of evil: moral, physical, and metaphysical. Moral evil is sin, physical evil is pain, and metaphysical evil is limitation. God permits moral and physical evil for the sake of greater goods, and metaphysical evil (i. e. , limitation) is unavoidable since any created universe must necessarily fall short of God's absolute perfection.

Human free will is consistent with God's foreknowledge, because even though all events in the universe are foreseen and pre-determined, they are not necessitated (i. e. , logically necessary), and only if human choices were necessitated would free will be an illusion.

Such “optimistic” approach to the question, with its equivocal issue having its roots both in Augustinian theological philosophy and in Reformed church was sarcastically mocked by Voltaire in his novel “Candide”, where philosopher Leibniz had his tragicomic alter ego under the disguise of Pangloss.