Leibniz: A Guide for the Perplexed

183 Pages·2007·8.68 MB·English

by  Franklin Perkins

LEIBNIZ: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED
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Deleuze: A Guide for the Perplexed, Claire Colebrook
Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Stephen Earnshaw
Gadamer: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chris Lawn
Hobbes: A Guide for the Perplexed, Stephen Finn
Husserl: A Guide for the Perplexed, Matheson Russell
Kant: A Guide for the Perplexed, T.K. Seung
Kierkegaard: A Guide for the Perplexed, Clare Carlisle
Leibniz: A Guide for the Perplexed, Franklin Perkins
Levinas: A Guide for the Perplexed, Benjamin Hutchens
Merleau-Ponty: A Guide for the Perplexed, Eric Matthews
Quine: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gary Kemp
Rousseau: A Guide for the Perplexed, Matthew Simpson
Sartre: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gary Cox
Wittgenstein: A Guide for the Perplexed, Mark Addis
LEIBNIZ: A GUIDE FOR THE
PERPLEXED
FRANKLIN PERKINS
A
continuum
CONTINUUM
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© Franklin Perkins 2007
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Eisbn 9780826489210
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by Acorn Bookwork Ltd, Salisbury, Wiltshire
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vi
Abbreviations viii
1 Reading Leibniz 1
I. Context of Leibniz's philosophy 1
II. Difficulties of reading Leibniz 7
III. Using this book 12
2 God and the best possible world 15
I. Two principles of knowledge 15
II. The existence of God 20
III. The nature of God 25
IV. The best of all possible worlds 41
3 Substances 61
I. Substance in early modern philosophy 61
II. The simplicity and unity of substance in Leibniz 66
III. Substances as points of view on the universe 79
IV. Interaction and pre-established harmony 90
4 Rational minds 108
I. Minute perceptions and levels of awareness 108
II. Necessary truths and innate ideas 121
III. Knowledge 130
IV. Identity and choice 142
5 Leibniz's philosophy and Leibniz as philosopher 161
References 166
Bibliography 169
Index 111
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book owes a great debt to Emily Grosholz, who first enabled
me to see Leibniz as something more than eccentric and out-
dated. Her influence shapes my basic approach to Leibniz and
many of the specific points I make here. I am also grateful to
Amanda Parris, who gave me helpful feedback on the entire
manuscript and did much of the tedious work involved in prepar-
ing it. I would also like to thank Robin Wang, who read through
the manuscript and gave me many helpful comments. Much of my
knowledge of Leibniz derives from a research grant from the
Deutscher An Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) which
allowed me to spend a year at the Leibniz Archive. I am grateful
to Herbert Breger and Rita Widmaier for their considerable help
there. I am fortunate to be in a department enthusiastic about
both researching and teaching the history of philosophy. This
manuscript shows the influence of many conversations both with
my colleagues and students. Finally, I would like to thank the
editors at Continuum Press, particularly Nick Fawcett for his
careful copy-editing
My greatest debt is to my parents, particularly for always
encouraging me to pursue what I loved, in spite of what appeared
to be a dubious economic future. I would not be writing this book
but for scholarships from Vanderbilt University, the Richardson
Foundation, and the Citizen's Scholarship Foundation, all of
which made it possible for me to attend college in the first place. I
will always be grateful for that support.
Quotations from Roger Ariew and Daniel Garber (ed. and
trans.), Philosophical Essays, 1989, reprinted by permission of
Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Quotations from Peter Remnant and Jonathan Bennett (trans.),
New Essays on the Human Understanding, 1981, reprinted by per-
mission of Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.
Quotations from R.S. Woolhouse and R. Francks (ed. and
trans.), Philosophical Texts, 1998, reprinted by permission of
Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
vii
ABBREVIATIONS
A: Sdmtliche Schriften und Briefe, ed. Deutsche Akademie der
Wissenschaften (Darmstadt/Leipzig/Berlin: Akademie
Verlag, 1923-). Cited by series, volume, and page number.
AG: Philosophical Essays, ed. and trans. Roger Ariew and
Daniel Garber (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989). Cited by
page number.
DM: Discourse on Metaphysics. Cited by section number. (See
AG for bibliographical details.)
M: Monadology. Cited by section number. (See AG for biblio-
graphical details.)
NE: New Essays on the Human Understanding, trans. Peter
Remnant and Jonathan Bennett (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1981). Cited by page number.
PNG: Principles of Nature and Grace, Based on Reason. Cited by
section number.
T: Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of
Man, and the Origin of Evil, trans. E. M. Huggard
(Chicago: Open Court, 1985). Cited by page number.
WF: Philosophical Texts, trans, and ed. R. S. Woolhouse and
R. Francks (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998). Cited
by page number.
viii
CHAPTER I
READING LEIBNIZ
I. CONTEXT OF LEIBNIZ'S PHILOSOPHY
Substances do not interact. Every substance is eternal. Bodies are
phenomena, not independently real. Choices are determined but
free. This is the best possible world. I first encountered Leibniz in
an introduction to Modern Philosophy and the image of him as a
philosopher so enthralled with his reasoning as to deny the reality
in front of him stuck with me for a long time. It wasn't that his
arguments were bad, but that their conclusions seemed obviously
false. Wouldn't a swift kick in the shin suffice to prove that sub-
stances do interact, that bodies are real, and perhaps even that
this is not the best possible world? This image of Leibniz as naive
and detached from reality was cemented by Voltaire's satirical
character Dr Pangloss, who insists over and over again - in the
face of the worst suffering and injustice - that this is the best
possible world.1 There is some irony in this image of Leibniz, as
Leibniz was the far opposite of an 'ivory tower' philosopher. He
consistently pursued positions that would increase his political
influence over positions that would increase his leisure for study
and reflection. Leibniz claimed the progress of knowledge as his
main goal, but he approached this goal from two sides, on one
side through his own research and writing while on the other side
promoting institutions that would better support, disseminate,
and apply knowledge. Today, Leibniz is best known or at least
most widely read for his philosophical writings, but philosophy
represents only a small part of his life's work. Although this book
will focus on explaining Leibniz's philosophy, that philosophy
must be approached from within the broader context of his life
and time.