Leibniz's Final System: Monads, Matter, and

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was one of the central figures of seventeenth-century philosophy, and a huge intellectual figure in his age. This book from Glenn A. Hartz (editor of the influential Leibniz Review) is an advanced study of Leibniz's metaphysics. Hartz analyzes a very complicated topic, widely discussed in contemporary commentaries on Leibniz, namely the question of whether Leibniz was a metaphysical idealist, realist, or whether he tried to reconcile both trends in his mature philosophy. Because Leibniz is notoriously unclear about this, much has been written on the subject. In recent years, the debate has centered on whether it is possible to maintain compatibility between the two trends. In this controversial book, Hartz demonstrates that it is not possible to maintain compatibility of idealist and realist views - they must be understood as completely separate theories. As the first major work on realism in Leibniz's metaphysics, this key text will interest international Leibniz scholars, as well as students at the graduate level.

Glenn A. Hartz is Professor of Philosophy at Ohio State University.

List of Figures

x

Preface

xi

Acknowledgements

xiii

List of Abbreviations

xv

1 Introduction

1

1.1 Overview of this Book

3

1.2 Idealism v. Realism

5

1.3 Genius

7

1.4 Four Levels of Ontic Involvement: Solipsism, Substance, Animal, and Aggregate

9

1.5 Interpretive Options

13

1.6 Theory-Pluralism

14

1.6.1 Theory-Pluralism v. Truth-Pluralism

18

1.6.2 Restrictions on Theory-Pluralism

23

1.6.3 Why Leibniz Presents Himself as a "Purveyor of Truths"

24

1.6.4 Theory-Pluralism's Explanatory Power

25

1.7 Idealism's "Canonical Metaphysics"

27

1.8 Realism's "Aggregate Thesis"

29

1.9 Supervenience

29

2 Substance

32

2.1 I

32

2.2 Gunk and Simples

38

2.3 Simples

42

2.4 Monads

46

2.5 Arguments for Substances

49

3 Mereology

55

3.1 Some Historical Roots of the Divisibility Argument

56

3.2 Space and Time

59

3.3 Extension

63

3.4 "Divisible" and "Divided"

66

3.5 Some Definitions in Leibniz's Mereology of Body

68

3.6 The Perceptual Continuum

70

4 Introduction to Aggregates

73

4.1 Aggregates: An Overview

73

4.2 Idealist Texts

74

4.3 Realist Texts

77

5 Idealist Analyses of Aggregates

80

5.1 Reductive Phenomenalism

80

5.2 Aggregates as Mental Constructions

82

5.3 Aggregates as Well-Founded Phenomena: An Overview

86

5.3.1 "Real Phenomena"

89

5.3.2 A Comprehensive Well-Founded Phenomena Analysis

91

5.3.3 Evaluation of the Well-Founded Phenomena Analysis

94

6 Realist Analyses of Aggregates

96

6.1 How Leibnizian Substances can be Parts of a Body

97

6.2 Preliminary Comment on the Realist Analyses

98

6.3 The Aggregate Thesis and Some of its Texts

99

6.4 Aggregates as "the Ss"

102

6.5 Aggregates as Mereological Sums

105

6.6 Aggregates as Rigid Embodiments: An Overview

108

6.6.1 Cambridge v. Meddler Relations

111

6.6.2 Harmony Embodiments

112

6.6.3 Plain Supervenience Embodiments

115

6.6.4 Direct Supervenience Embodiments

118

6.6.5 Epistemic Access to Rigid Embodiments through 'F'

122

6.6.6 The Final Rigid Embodiment Analysis

126

6.6.7 Evaluation of the Rigid Embodiment Analysis

127

6.7 Two Problems for Accounts of Aggregates

135

6.7.1 "Principles of Aggregation"

135

6.7.2 Spatial Position for Substances

137

7 Is Realism Compatible with Idealism?

141

7.1 Six Adequacy Conditions for Compatibilisms

142

7.1.1 Textually Inclusive

142

7.1.2 Provides an Explicit Non-metaphorical Explanation of the Compatibility

143

7.1.3 No Equivocation

148

7.1.4 No Leibniz's Law or Material Equivalence Problems

152

7.1.5 Consistent with the Continuum Doctrine

153

7.1.6 Fully Integrated with the Doctrine of Animals

154

7.2 Compatibilism as an Interpretation

155

8 Animals

156

8.1 A Look Back at Aggregates

157

8.2 The Mature Doctrine and its Critics

159

8.3 The Principal Mature Texts

162

8.4 Idealism: Well-Founded Animals

176

8.5 Realism: Animals as Variable Embodiments

182

8.6 Compatibilist Animals

192

9 A Final Look

197

9.1 The Tables Turned

198

9.2 Is it True?

199

9.3 The Worth of this Study

200

Appendix: Guide to Doctrine Tables

203

Discourse on Metaphysics Doctrine Table

204

Totals for Discourse on Metaphysics

205

Arnauld Correspondence Doctrine Table

205

Totals for Arnauld Correspondence

206

New System Doctrine Table

206

Totals for New System

207

De Volder Correspondence Doctrine Table

207

Totals for De Volder Correspondence

207

Monadology Doctrine Table

208

Totals for Monadology

209

Summary of Doctrine Tables

209

Totals for Doctrine Tables

210

Notes

211

Bibliography

220

Index

226

Index of Leibniz Texts

232

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Leibniz's Final System: Monads, Matter, and Animals

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