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Harmonizing Leibniz’s Ontology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2012

ANDREW D. H. STUMPF
ANDREW D. H. STUMPF*
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
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Abstract

I propose a novel compatibilist interpretation of Leibniz’s mature views concerning what is metaphysically basic. Drawing on a compatibilist reading of Aristotle on primary substance in the Categories and Metaphysics Z, I argue that Leibniz is working with two complementary ways of being metaphysically basic—one applying to immaterial monads, the other to corporeal substances. Although corporeal substances derive their status as basic from their dominant monads, they are nevertheless fully real, unified, and genuinely capable of acting. This perspective respects Leibniz’s idealist tendencies and his commitment to the reality of bodies without (implausibly) attributing inconsistency to his considered views.

Je propose une interprétation compatibiliste des positions de Leibniz sur ce qui est métaphysiquement fondamental. En m’appuyant sur une lecture compatibiliste de ce que dit Aristote de la substance première dans les Catégories et au livre Z de la Métaphysique, je soutiens que Leibniz pense en fonction de deux manières d’être fondamentales—l’une qui s’applique aux monades immatérielles, et l’autre aux substances corporelles. Ces dernières sont fondamentales d’une façon secondaire, mais elles sont néanmoins vraiment réelles, unifiées et capables d’agir. Cette approche respecte à la fois les tendances idéalistes de Leibniz et son attrait pour la réalité des corps, sans pour autant attribuer d’incohérence aux positions en question.

Type
Articles
Information
Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 467 - 483
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 2012

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