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| Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz | Philosopher of the Month Collection | September 2020 on the Academic Oxford University Press website |
Born in 1646 in Leipzig, Germany, Leibniz’s theories in metaphysics changed philosophy. One of his signature doctrines and particularly prominent theory, which disputed many others at the time, is about substance, monads, and pre-established harmony. He argues that the universe, and therefore humans, consist of only God and monads. Monads are ‘soul-like’ immaterial entities which exist as a substance in themselves. Monads cannot be broken down into smaller parts. Therefore, Leibniz argued, mind and body must be made of the same substance. He did maintain that though, according to his theory, the mind and body are separate from each other, they causally interact with each other.
His metaphysical work in philosophy dealt with significant issues, posing theories and explanations for the problem of evil, the problem of free will, and the nature of space and time. The problem of evil and metaphysics absorbed his attention throughout his career; the significance he attributed to the topic can be seen through the extent of his writing, which spanned the course of his lifetime...
Leibniz was an exceptional polymath. His pivotal theories in metaphysical philosophy, logic, ethics, mathematics, as well as his philosophical writing on the problem of evil, truth, and free will and the nature of space and time, categorise him as the last ‘universal genius’.
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| August 2020. |
Source: OUPblog
