To Solve Descartes’ Problem
To solve the contradiction of Descartes’ dualism, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz illustrated innumerable, undivided and minimum substances monad (from French monade).
It’s opposite direction of investigation to the monism of Baruch Spinoza. Spinoza’s substance as the God is independent, eternal and finite, so it is self-caused and is the one covers everything. But to explain diversity of the world, it’s more natural that there are innumerable monad than there’s the one substance.
Monadology
Monad owns unlimited connections and is unified by power. Monad exists by to reflect unlimited interconnections among monad and the entire universe. Monad is living mirror of the universe, is not an only a point of space. In stead of independent substance by Descartes or Spinoza, monad has independent motion. Monad is substance can move by itself. Atom of Democritus or Lucretius is minimal physical particle can be divided. Differ from atom, monad is immaterial, unphysical and undivided essence to construct things.
Monad is a sensual thing, so it causes voluntary motion or change. Monad is subject of motion, and its condition is developed and changed by an internal principle of itself.
Changing of monad is not related to and is not affected by other monads. So, Leibniz stated “Monads are windowless”. Monad is not being or existence, it’s the motion is consist of mind and things.
By their function of “expression”, monads realize the diversity of the world. Monads can’t be changed by each other. Monad reflects and expresses the whole universe, there’s no diversity and differences of meaning or content. But monads are varied by differences of a perspective reflects in the whole and in a degree of awakening.
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Related Posts and Pages
Note | Philosophy of René Descartes