Leibniz and the elements of compound bodies

British Journal for the History of Philosophy

Volumn 7, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 57-78

  Phemister, Pauline ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL   (United Kingdom)

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[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 60949281321     PISSN: 09608788     EISSN: 14693526     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09608789908571015     Document Type: Article

References (10)

1. See esp. letters to Arnauld, 30 April, 1687, G.II.100/M 125; 9 Oct. 1687, G.II.120/M 154. Also see D. Garber, 'Leibniz and the Foundations of Physics: the Middle Years', in K. Okruhlick & J. R. Brown, eds. The Natural Philosophy of Leibniz, pp. 27-130. R. M. Adams argues against Garber's thesis in his book, Leibniz: Determinist, Theist, Idealist (Oxford, 1994), chaps 11-13
2. E.g. C. D. Broad, Leibniz: an introduction (Cambridge, 1975), p. 87; S. C. Brown, Leibniz (Brighton, 1984), p. 141; C. Wilson, Leibniz's Metaphysics: a historical and comparative study (New Jersey, 1989), p. 191. However, R. S. Woolhouse (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz: the concept of substance in seventeenth century metaphysics (London, 1993), pp. 94-5) cites a 1711 letter from Leibniz to Bierling in support of corporeal substances
3. See, for instance, S. C. Brown, Leibniz, p. 141
4. B. Mates, The Philosophy of Leibniz: metaphysics and language (Oxford, 1986), pp. 204-5
5. D. Rutherford, Leibniz and the Rational Order of Nature (Cambridge, 1995), p. 221
6. On this view, confused perception of extended bodies is an erroneous perception of actually unextended monads. Even Rutherford, who claims to argue against the misrepresentation thesis, does not entirely reject it. See D. Rutherford, 'Phenomenalism and the Reality of Body in Leibniz's Later Philosophy', Studia Leibnitiana, 22 (1990), 11-28, p. 13
7. See also Stuart Brown, 'Leibniz's New System Strategy' in R. S. Woolhouse, ed. Leibniz's 'New System' (1695) (Florence, 1996), pp. 37-61, p. 41
8. Quoted from D. Turck, 'Leibniz's Theory of the Soul', Southern Journal of Philosophy, 12 (1974), 103-16, p. 105. Turck is surely right to read Leibniz as referring to the 'New System', which appeared in the French Journal des Savants of 27 June 1695
9. On Leibniz's ambivalent attitude to Cartesianism and for further evidence that Leibniz adjusted his expressions to the Cartesians, see S. Brown, 'Leibniz's New System Strategy'
10. E.g. Monadology, $58, G.VI.616/L 648, AG 220.1 accept David Blumenfeld's argument that Leibniz's God maximizes both variety and order ('Perfection and happiness in the best possible world', in N. Jolley, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Leibniz (Cambridge, 1995), 382-110, pp. 386-7