The eighteenth-century French atheist and materialist Denis Diderot, whose views were very often at odds with those of Leibniz, could not help being awed by Leibniz' achievement, writing “Perhaps never has a man read as much, studied as much, meditated more, and written more than Leibniz… What he has composed on the world, God, nature, and the soul is of the most sublime eloquence. If his ideas had been expressed with the flair of Plato, the philosopher of Leipzig would cede nothing to the philosopher of Athens.... When one compares the talents one has with those of a Leibniz, one is tempted to throw away one's books and go die quietly in the dark of some forgotten corner.”
Leibniz in Wikipedia, Sanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Gottfried Leibniz biographical documentary 35:00 min.
Video - The Invention of Calculus 8:00 minutes
Article - The Optimistic Science of Leibniz
Leibniz was a brilliant polymath. He was born in Leipzig to Lutheran parents who were well educated. His father was a professor of moral philosophy. Leibniz university education exposed him to scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy as well as Descartes' mechanistic philosophy. Leibniz spent his life under the patronage of Hanover (Germany) rulers, shuffling back and forth between science and philosophy, and politics and diplomacy.
Leibniz's contributions to science and mathematics include the development of calculus, major contributions to logic, the development of calculating machines and binary mathematics that became the basis for 20th century computers. He also worked on a logic of language, anticipating ordinary language philosophy, a major field in 20th century philosophy.
His work in philosophy included the fields of metaphysics, law, epistemology, history and theology.
Leibniz worked with the mind of a diplomat trying to reconcile the great cleavages of his day. He sought to reconcile science and religion through his metaphysical system and tried to convince Protestants and Catholics they had more in common than they had to fight over.
Leibniz's Metaphysics: Monadology:
Monads are the building blocks of reality.
Unlike the atoms we know, monads are non-material (like Descartes' mind).
Each monads is independent, it does not interact with other monads. They are windowless, yet they contain the understanding of all of the universe.
Monads go from simpler to more complex, with human minds being the second most complex, with God being the most complex monad.
Monads are associated with material elements; rocks, trees, human body parts, the human brain. But monads do not interact with material things either. But monads reflect the material things they are associated with.
Pre-established harmony instead of Malebranche's occasionalism
Leibniz, like Descartes, was a dualist; he believed that reality consisted of two substances, material and non-material. But, unlike Descartes who believed the two worlds interacted through the pineal gland (a mental thought of raising my arm makes my arm go up), Leibniz claimed that the two worlds did not interact with one another. Rather, he thought the two substances were synchronized by God (like two clocks that are synchronized and keep the exact same time without interacting with one another).
Leibniz's Epistemology (Liebinz was a rationalist):
Leibniz's earliest mature work on human knowledge was is 1684 essay “Meditations on Knowledge, Truth, and Ideas.” After John Locke published An Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1689, Leibniz wrote a series of articles replying to Locke (they are collectively known as New Essays in Human Understanding). Because Locke died before Leibniz finished the essays, he never had them published. They were not published until 40 years after Leibniz's death.
The Principle of Sufficient Reason
Leibniz stated a number of principles that were central to his philosophy (see list here). His most famous principle is the Principle of Sufficient reason (PSR). It states that nothing is without a reason , or there is no effect without a cause. For Leibniz this principle “must be considered one of the greatest and most fruitful of all human knowledge, for upon it is built a great part of metaphysics, physics, and moral science.” Leibniz suggests that the claim that nothing takes place without a sufficient reason means that nothing happens in such a way that it is impossible for someone with enough information to give a reason why it is so and not otherwise. But Leibniz also states that “most of the time these reasons cannot be known to us.”
Leibniz's view of Innate Ideas (against Locke's view)...
Leibniz maintained that there were innate ideas. Here is his argument...
Empirical knowledge can show that something is the case but cannot show that something is necessarily the case. The human mind, however, has knowledge of necessary truths, such as the laws of arithmetic and geometry. These necessary truths, which Leibniz calls “truths of reason,” are ideas whose opposite is impossible. They are the eternal truths which obtain in all possible worlds.
Because truths of reason are known solely through the principle of non-contradiction and require no empirical data, Leibniz concludes that they are innate to the mind. Leibniz contrasts innate ideas with “truths of fact,” contingent truths whose opposite is possible and knowledge of which requires experience.
Leibniz's hierarchy of ideas:
I. Obscure Ideas
Someone may have an idea of what a gerbil is, but cannot distinguish it from a hamster. So his idea of a gerbil is an obscure idea.
II. Clear Ideas
A. Confused Ideas - a person may be able to distinguish a gerbil from a hamster in some ways, but does not necessarily know in all ways what the difference is.
B. Distinct Ideas -
1. Inadequate Ideas - when one cannot explain an idea down to all of its smallest components
2. Adequate Ideas - adequate ideas are ones in which all the properties that make up an idea are grasped
a. Non-intuitive Ideas - adequate ideas that need some thought to identify the basis of the idea.
b. Intuitive Ideas - the most trustworthy ideas - they are grasped accurately and immediately. Leibniz seems to think that mathematics are the only Intuitive ideas.
Leibniz's Political Ideas:
Leibniz's commentary on Louis XIV of France in his writing The Most Christian War God (video: start at 18:35)
Introduction of publicly funded libraries, schools and vocational institutions in Hanover. (Leibniz developed one of the earliest library cataloging systems)
Programs to assist the poor and an early public form of social security
Labor laws
A sort of European "United Nations" to prevent wars (he couldn't persuade Peter the Great or Louis XIV)
Leibniz's Influence:
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) and Psycho-physical Parallelism (Leibniz was the first to suggest the mind operates below conscious levels - subconsciously)
Late 19th and early 20th century philosophers of logic, language, mathematics:
George Cantor, Gottlob Frege, Kurt Gödel, Alfred Tarski
Best of All Possible Worlds (Leibniz's optimism):
(Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse, his translation of Homer, and for his use of the heroic couplet. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare).
Leibniz's hierarchy of ideas:
I. Obscure Ideas
Someone may have an idea of what a gerbil is, but cannot distinguish it from a hamster. So his idea of a gerbil is an obscure idea.
II. Clear Ideas
A. Confused Ideas - a person may be able to distinguish a gerbil from a hamster in some ways, but does not necessarily know in all ways what the difference is.
B. Distinct Ideas -
1. Inadequate Ideas - when one cannot explain an idea down to all of its smallest components
2. Adequate Ideas - adequate ideas are ones in which all the properties that make up an idea are grasped
a. Non-intuitive Ideas - adequate ideas that need some thought to identify the basis of the idea.
b. Intuitive Ideas - the most trustworthy ideas - they are grasped accurately and immediately. Leibniz seems to think that mathematics are the only Intuitive ideas.
Leibniz's Political Ideas:
Leibniz's commentary on Louis XIV of France in his writing The Most Christian War God (video: start at 18:35)
Introduction of publicly funded libraries, schools and vocational institutions in Hanover. (Leibniz developed one of the earliest library cataloging systems)
Programs to assist the poor and an early public form of social security
Labor laws
A sort of European "United Nations" to prevent wars (he couldn't persuade Peter the Great or Louis XIV)
Leibniz's Influence:
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) and Psycho-physical Parallelism (Leibniz was the first to suggest the mind operates below conscious levels - subconsciously)
Late 19th and early 20th century philosophers of logic, language, mathematics:
George Cantor, Gottlob Frege, Kurt Gödel, Alfred Tarski
Best of All Possible Worlds (Leibniz's optimism):
"Of systems possible, if 'tis confest
That Wisdom infinite must form the best....
Respecting man, whatever wrong we call,
May, must be right, as relative to all....
All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see
All discord, harmony, not understood
All partial evil, universal good:
And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.
That Wisdom infinite must form the best....
Respecting man, whatever wrong we call,
May, must be right, as relative to all....
All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see
All discord, harmony, not understood
All partial evil, universal good:
And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.
(Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse, his translation of Homer, and for his use of the heroic couplet. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare).
No comments:
Post a Comment