An Aggregate of Substances as an External Object. Leibniz on the Ontological Status of Body or Aggregate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/Metyper.2018.v0i20.4838Keywords:
Early Modern Philosophy 17th Century, Leibniz, Locke, Metaphysics, History of PhysicsAbstract
According to Robert M. Adams’ interpretation, Leibniz holds that an aggregate of substances exists in the mind that perceives them as one being. For Leibniz, an aggregate is dependent upon a mind since its being is realized by a mental action. Since Leibniz states that being and unity are convertible, and the unity of an aggregate is completely dependent upon mind, Adams takes Leibniz to hold that an aggregate exists in the mind. In this paper, I argue against Adams that an aggregate of substances is an external object. I show that there are passages that support this interpretation. I further make clear that substances in an aggregate have a remarkable feature in common, and it is possible that an aggregate exists in relation to a mind as an external object.
Downloads
Metrics
References
A Sämtliche Scriften unt Briefe. Darmstadt and Berlin: Berlin Academy, 1923-. Cited by series, volume, and page.
AG G. W. Leibniz Philosophical Essays. Edited and translated by Roger Ariew and Daniel Garber, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989.
C Opuscules et fragments inédits de Leibniz. Ed. by Louis Coutulat. Paris : Félix Alcan, 1903. Reprint, Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966.
DM Discours de Métaphysique (1686). Cited by section number from G IV, 427–63.
GP Die philosophischen Schriften von Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Edited by C. I. Gerhardt. Berlin: Weidman, 1874–90. Reprint, Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1978. Cited by volume and page.
L Philosophical Papers and Letters. Edited and translated by Leroy Loemker. Second edition, Dordrecht: Reidel, 1969.
LA The Leibniz-Arnauld Correspondence. Edited and translated by H.T.Mason. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1967.
Lodge The Leibniz-De Volder Correspondence. Edited and translated by Paul Lodge. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.
NE Nouveaux Essais sur l’entendement humain, Cited by book, chapter and section.
RB New Essays on Human Understanding. Edited and translated by Peter Remnant and Jonathan Bennett. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
RML Malebranche et Leibniz: Relations personnelles. Edited by André Robinet. Paris: Vrin, 1955.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who have publications with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain their copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication of their work, which is simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License that allows third parties to share the work provided that its author and first publication in this journal are indicated.
b. Authors may adopt other non-exclusive licensing arrangements for distribution of the published version of the work (e.g. depositing it in an institutional telematic archive or publishing it in a monographic volume) provided that initial publication in this journal is indicated.
c. Authors are allowed and encouraged to disseminate their work via the Internet (e.g. in institutional telematics archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can lead to interesting exchanges and increase citations of the published work (see The Open Access Effect).
17.png)
