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Discourse on Metaphysics and the Monadology

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Leibniz (1646 - 1716) was a true polymath and has been called the most comprehensive thinker since Aristotle. In these two great works by the founder of modern German speculative philosophy, the reader is introduced to Leibniz's metaphysics, including his conception of physical substance, the motion and resistance of bodies, and the role of the divine within the dynamic universe.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1686

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Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz

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German philosopher and mathematician Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz or Leibnitz invented differential and integral calculus independently of Isaac Newton and proposed an optimist metaphysical theory that included the notion that we live in "the best of all possible worlds."

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a polymath, occupies a prominent place in the history. Most scholars think that Leibniz developed and published ever widely used notation. Only in the 20th century, his law of continuity and transcendental homogeneity found implementation in means of nonstandard analysis. He of the most prolific in the field of mechanical calculators. He worked on adding automatic multiplication and division to calculator of Blaise Pascal, meanwhile first described a pinwheel in 1685, and used it in the first mass-produced mechanical arithmometer. He also refined the binary number system, the foundation of virtually all digital computers.

Leibniz most concluded that God ably created our universe in a restricted sense, Voltaire often lampooned the idea. Leibniz alongside the great René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza advocated 17th-century rationalism. Applying reason of first principles or prior definitions, rather than empirical evidence, produced conclusions in the scholastic tradition, and the work of Leibniz anticipated modern analytic logic.

Leibniz made major contributions to technology, and anticipated that which surfaced much later in probability, biology, medicine, geology, psychology, linguistics, and computer science. He wrote works on politics, law, ethics, theology, history, and philology. Various learned journals, tens of thousands of letters, and unpublished manuscripts scattered contributions of Leibniz to this vast array of subjects. He wrote in several languages but primarily Latin and French. No one completely gathered the writings of Leibniz.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Αβδυλλα Aωαςhι.
91 reviews70 followers
March 27, 2016
مراجعة كتاب � مقالة في الميتافيزيقيا� للفيلسوف الألماني لايبنتز

هذا الكتاب هو أول كتاب أقرأه لـــ لا يبنتز ، هذا الفيلسوف الألماني من هانوفر و الذي عاش ما بين ١٦٤٦-١٧١٦ ، هو صاحب نتاجات كثيرة و عميقة أغلبها قرر ألا ينشرها في حياته و قد تم اكتشاف خمسة عشر ألف مخطوطة له في مكتبة هانوفر ، لذلك فله مقولة يقول فيها أن � من لا يعرفني إلا بأعمالي المنشورة لا يعرفني معرفة كافية� و ذلك لما ذكرت لأن أعماله التي نشرت في حياته قليلة جداً مقارنةً بما أودعه لدى مكتبة هانوفر لينشر بعد موته ، و من ضمنها هذا الكتاب الحالي � مقالة في الميتافيزيقيا�.

و لأن الميتافيزيقيا باب واسع ، فإن هذا الكتاب يمكن أن أصنفه في باب الإلهيات و يمكن القول إن مادته أقرب للاهوت (الثيولوجيا) من الميتافيزيقيا، حيث أنه يتعرض بشكل رئيسي لدراسة و تحليل أفعال الله و كمالاته و يهدف بشكل رئيسي إلى استنتاج أن جميع أفعال الله هي عادلة و كاملة و حكيمة و في محلها و موضعها الصحيح و إن تبين في الظاهر عكس ذلك بحسب درجة استيعابنا.

و يتعرض لتفاصيل ذلك بتعرضه لعدة أبواب من ضمنها : الرد على من يقولون إنه لا خير في أعمال الله ، و في أن حب الله يتطلب رضىً كلياً على ما يفعل ،و في صلاح الأسباب الغائية ، و في أن كل الأفكار موجودة فينا ، حيث يوافق في هذه النظرية نظرية أفلاطون عن الروح و التي تقول بأن الروح / النفس لما كانت في عالم المُثل رأت كل شيء و لما نزلت لعالم الدنيا نست كل ما رأته، فعملية التعلم بالنسبة لها هي فقط تذكر لما تعلمته.

يأتي لايبنتز بنظرية جديدة عن المعجزات و الخوارق حيث يقول أنها لاتعد خرقاً للنظام العام إنما هي متوافقة معه و إن كانت مناقضة للقواعد الثانوية للنظام الطبيعي.

و ينحو برأيه للاعتقاد أن قواعد الميكانيكا و الفيزياء ليست تابعة للهندسة و العوامل الطبيعية فقط ، إنما هي مرتبطة ارتباط وثيق بالعوامل الغيبية الميتافيزيقية.

كتاب متواضع في الطرح ، لم يضف لي الكثير ، خصوصاً و أن الكثير من هذه الاستنتاجات التي تعرض لها لايبنتز متوافقة مع ما تعرضه كتب العقائد الاسلامية في التحدث عن عدل الله و كمال أفعاله و حكمتها، و لكن يمكن الاشادة بفكر هذا الرجل و طرحه في هذا الكتاب.
Profile Image for mohab samir.
432 reviews393 followers
August 17, 2021
لا أستطيع أن أقيم هذا القدر من التناسق والتناغم الفلسفى فأنا لست أهلاً لذلك بعد . لم يكن لايبنتز يعنينى كثيرا من قبل ولم أدرك أهميته فى تاريخ الفلسفة قدر ما كنت أستشعر عظمة ديكارت وكانط وهيجل ورغم تعدد قراءاتى فى تاريخ الفلسفة فيبدو أن كل ما قرأته قد بخس هذا الفيلسوف العظيم قدره ومكانته ولم يوفوا تصويره وشرح منهجه حق قدره .
كالعادة أستشعر جمال الفلسفات الخاصة بمنهجيتها وبالتالى بتسلسل أفكارها المنطقي ثم بقوة الحجة والبراهين على النظريات او الفرضيات الفلسفية وأخيرا على إتساع رؤية الكاتب وقدرته على التحليل والتركيب .
كان ذلك ما وجدته فى فلسفة لايبنتز وإن كان قد نهل من فلسفة ديكارت ومالبرانش ما أثر فى فلسفته الخاصة ليعود ليجعل إنتقاده لهما جزءاً لا يتجزأ من أهداف فلسفته فهو يشير إليهم هنا وهناك داحضا إعتقاداتهم فى ثنائية الجوهر العقلى والممتد عند ديكارت او وحدة الجوهر عند مالبرانش كذلك الحجج الأنطولوجية على وجود الله ونظرياتهم المعرفية .
فلايبنتز ينادى بجواهر لا نهائية مفردة (مونادات) تتحد كلها فى جوهرأسمى كامل مطلق الوجود هو الله وهى تستمد وجودها وطبيعتها منه وهو وحده قادر على التأثير فيها أما ما تتبادله المونادات من تأثيرات فليست إلا تأثيرات ظاهرية فكل موناده منغلقة على نفسها لا يخرج منها ولا يدخل إليها شىء وهى لا تتضمن إلا ماهيتها أو هويتها بكل ما تحمله من إمكانات وتأثرها بغيرها لا يعدو أن يكون تناغما مسبقاً فرضه الخالق فيما بينها بحيث يعبر كل جوهر فرد عن كل ما فى الوجود من وجهة نظره الخاصة التى تظهر فى صورة تناغم بين أفعال المونادات وردود أفعالها ولا تختلف المونادات المفردة عن بعضها البعض إلا فى درجات الكمال التى يمنحها لها الله .
والمعرفة موجودة فى كل مونادة بصورة مسبقة ولا تثيرها إلا بعض الشروط الخاصة الممكنة الوجود والنفس الخالدة فقط هى من تعرف ذاتها وكل نفس توجد فى تناغم تام مع جسدها ومع الكون .
وما أجمل نظريته التى تميز بين العلل الفاعلة والعلل الغائية وفكرته الضرورية عن حكم العلل الغائية على العلل الفاعلة فى آخر سلسلة العلل التى تنتهى بالله فالحقائق الهندسية والنظريات الميكانيكية فى تفسير ظواهر الكون كلها عبارة عن علل فاعلة تحكمها علل ميتافيزيقية تعبر عن حكمة الله وعظمة إرادته . ويختم مجال الحديث ذلك بالقول بأن الله خلق أكمل عالم ممكن .
كان ذلك الكتاب من أكثر الكتب الفلسفية أو كتب الميتافيزيقا على وجه الخصوص التى أثرت فى تفكيرى وتسببت فى تطوير الكثير من معتقداتى التى ستظل دائما ناقصة سأظل كذلك أبحث عن كمالها بإستمرار بين كلمات هؤلاء العظماء فى تاريخ البشرية .
Profile Image for Brandt.
147 reviews24 followers
March 24, 2016

Employing the principle of charity, I will initiate a review of this book with as little criticism as practicable. is a significant figure, not for philosophy per se, but for originating Mathematical Logic � so, I guess philosophy � and the ideas of kinetic energy, and Calculus. Of course, you can debate the whole Newton vs. Leibniz hokum somewhere else! All of these accomplishments are astounding; therefore, I opine that Leibniz should be remembered for all the preceding achievements.


Now is where it gets awkward. Leibniz accepted the ontological proof for the existence of God; and by God, I mean the Christian God of 17th Century (the purpose of this review is not to talk about beliefs, I will just leave that phrasing ambiguous). Leibniz advised that God could have chosen any sort of world; since, it is possible. Nevertheless, since He [God] is perfect by definition, “this is the best of all possible worlds.� Of course, Leibniz would be ridiculed by for this ludicrous deduction, in ; but I digress. Leibniz's argument goes something like this: Life is not worth living if we do not have free will. Free will is the purchase price of sin. A world without free will is not worth living in. Therefore, “this is the best of all possible worlds.� Yes, it does go like that, and even the insouciant reader can sense something inexplicable afoot in Leibniz's reasoning.


Frankly, the order of Leibniz' writing is to be celebrated. It is clearly written, and situated in an order where each argument builds upon previous premises, conclusions, and arguments. Both the Discourse on Metaphysics and The Monadology can be read quickly. However, this is the extent of my extolment for Leibniz. The message in his arguments is utterly farcical. Instead of investigating the nature of existence, he immediately starts from the point of view that his God exists, and as such, Leibniz is only reporting the reality. Yes facts! As an example, Leibniz indicates that, there is a universal order and everything conforms to it. “This is so true,� Leibniz observes, “that not only does nothing occur in this world which is absolutely irregular, but it is even impossible to conceive such an occurrence.� Think about that for a few seconds. Okay, time is up. I have thought of many things that are absolutely irregular that occur. The point is that Leibniz was wrong!


I am hesitant to go any further in the Discourse on Metaphysics; nonetheless, I still judge it to be important reading. Not necessarily for what Leibniz was right about, but because it demonstrates the error process that can affect even the most brilliant of humans. This is an important point, because very often, arguments are made � and ideas embraced � that are fallacious appeals to authority, belief, popularity, etc. It is troublesome to express this in a positive way.


Turning toward The Monadology,here Leibniz outdid himself by conveying the idea of infinite units of force made up of “soul,� that make up everything else. Some of these “monads� do not interact, and as a result, bad things can sometimes be good?! No worries though, the God of Leibniz knows everything, because He has “divine foreknowledge.� Once again, you might want to pause here and consider the implications. Peradventure, look up the “Consequence Argument�. Here is a link to a short book that perfectly explains it in Chapter 3: . Once you understand the "Consequence Argument," you will comprehend the problem; viz., if God has foreknown what we will do, we cannot now do otherwise than we actually do! Therefore, if free will requires the power to do otherwise, then no one has free will. Yet, remember the premises and conclusion in one of the previous paragraphs? No worries, I used the bold formatting to help you find it... You know, the one where Leibniz claims, Life is not worth living if we do not have free will. Free will is the purchase price of sin. A world without free will is not worth living in. Therefore, “this is the best of all possible worlds.� This is representative of the inconsistencies in Leibniz's arguments in toto.


Consequently, Leibniz's arguments tend to have problems. Leibniz's reasoning is inclined towards inconsistencies, and at times, incoherence. Moreover, Leibniz's formulation of us living in “the best possible world� is difficult to quantify when, in modernity, you see an ample share of the world living in unbearable circumstances (v.g., I flush my toilet everyday with water cleaner than most of the world's drinking water). To explain to someone that the reason they are living in squalor is for the “greater good� would be derisory. Hence, one can easily understand why so effortlessly lampooned Leibniz on his “best possible world� postulation.
In conclusion, I do consider there is much to be derived from reading Leibniz; even though I dissent from many of his arguments. The fundamental contribution is that he formulates his arguments well, and this is central to philosophy. Sometimes reading philosophy is more for understanding the mistakes that others have made to ensure you do not make the same mistakes in your own reasoning. Happy reading.
Profile Image for Josh.
168 reviews100 followers
June 3, 2019
Discourse on Metaphysics is the earliest systematic expression of Leibniz's philosophical thought. It covers topics ranging from the nature of God, substances, natural philosophy, human will and understanding, and the consequences of all this for religion.

Leibniz views god as a perfect being and believes the universe consists in perfect, ordered harmony in accordance with reason.

He posits that many substances exist, created by God. These substances never directly interact with eachother (avoiding the problem of substance interaction that plagued Descartes) but do correspond perfectly thanks to God's will.

He also asserted, against the Cartesians, that there are more metaphysical considerations than just extension when examining body-substance.

Leibniz subscribed to innate ideas and refers to Plato's theory of reminiscence. He argues for a variety of notions that come from internal experience such as substance, identity and being.
Profile Image for Nicolás Avendaño.
189 reviews9 followers
February 6, 2022
Leibniz is the first lutheran that I like. Incredibly rich book on several topics even if it is really short.

I adore Marías' prologue and notes. Great study on realistic metaphysics and what we can learn of idealistics like Leibniz.
Profile Image for Dakota.
44 reviews1 follower
July 23, 2024
“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� (Oeuvres complètes, vol. 7, p. 678).
Profile Image for Faustine.
41 reviews2 followers
July 24, 2024
ct plutôt cool!! à part les parties qui étaient un peu chiantes, là ct un peu chiant�
Profile Image for Aman.
65 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2020
It's not as concise as the Monadology, and not as interesting to someone who is neither concerned with the specific historical developments of Leibniz's philosophy or the Christian God.
Profile Image for Diego.
83 reviews16 followers
October 23, 2014
It was a good speech, with some interesting thoughts, however, I dislike that the base of all the Leibniz's philosophical work is the believe of god and the bible, the goodness of the men, unfortunately the good nature is not in human.
155 reviews2 followers
June 13, 2020
It has only a historical value for the modern student. At some point, it's hard not to think that either he is trying to be funny or he's an idiot; could be both.
Profile Image for Stephen Keene.
25 reviews1 follower
February 12, 2018
I listened to the two-hour audiobook from Audible. This is one that I will return to as a reference from time to time. I cannot say that it was a thrilling read, but it is a “must read� for anyone interested in philosophical disciplines. I majored in Chemistry at a Methodist Church-related university. Having been steeped in Wesleyan doctrine and philosophy from childhood, I found Leibniz ideas to be quite satisfying. When I see and hear various self-proclaimed scientific experts trying to use science to tear down faith or self-proclaimed pillars of religion trying battle against science using fundamentalist dogma, I would like to lock up both factions in a room, bind and gag them, and force them to listen to lectures and sermons from Leibniz and John Wesley while Charles Wesley’s hymns are playing in the background. They would all be forced to stay there eating meager rations and taking Holy Communion until they found some points in each side where they could agree. Only then would said experts be allowed to have their opinions see the light of day.
9 reviews
May 5, 2025
Un libro breve, diviso in 37 capitoli che possono essere racchiusi in 5 parti, da cui è possibile dedurre quasi tutta la filosofia di Leibniz. Per questo i ragionamenti non sono troppo complessi e comunque sono facili da seguire per la loro brevità.

Non l’ho assolutamente trovata una lettura impegnativa; i temi trattati sono molti, ma collegati in modo chiaro e se dovessi spiegare la filosofia di Leibniz in poche parole userei sicuramente coerente: è difficile trovare una contraddizione o un punto su cui l’autore non si esprime a causa della mancanza di ipotesi. Alcune teorie sono molto interessanti come l’armonia prestabilita e l’ottimismo.

Se accompagnato da uno studio personale o da un edizione con un’introduzione esaustiva è molto facile da capire e da leggere.
Profile Image for Daria Cantini.
48 reviews15 followers
January 9, 2025
Dio gira e rigira il mondo nelle sue mani, lo osserva da tutti i lati e in tutti i modi possibili, e ogni suo sguardo infinito «è una sostanza che esprime l'universo conformemente a questa veduta».

"Di più ancora, ogni sostanza è come un mondo intero e come uno specchio di Dio, oppure di tutto l’universo, che ciascuna esprime a suo modo, pressappoco come una stessa città è rappresentata diversamente a seconda delle differenti collocazioni di chi la guardi. Così l’universo, in certo modo, è moltiplicato tante volte quante sono le sostanze, e la gloria di Dio è parimenti raddoppiata da ciascuna delle rappresentazioni della sua opera, tutte differenti" (§ 9).
Profile Image for SeaShore.
776 reviews
Want to read
January 4, 2020
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, June 22 1646-Germany to November 14, 1716 -Germany .
He was a German philosopher, mathematician, and political adviser, important both as a metaphysician and as a logician and distinguished also for his independent invention of the differential and integral calculus.
He attended the University of Leipzig as a law student and it was there he met Aristotle, Bacon, Hobbes and Descartes.

He was a great thinker and educated in the Sciences as well as philosophy.

I can't help but wonder on his thoughts had he lived now, in 2020.
Profile Image for Gil Blas.
117 reviews12 followers
September 30, 2023
Es un placer leer a una poderosa mente que piensa tan bien, con una claridad matemática sobre las cuestiones difíciles de la metafísica.
Leibniz era además alguien que buscaba recuperar una unidad verdadera, no como la de vacío, lupanar y anomia que hoy se pretende. En él estaban prodigiosamente unidas la ciencia y la fe (sin contraposición ni confusión), es en cierto modo uno de los últimos grandes filósofos clásicos y escolásticos, a los que reivindica en esta obra evitando así caer en el desdén total de otros modernos . El gran racionalista que sabe ver los límites de la razón.
Profile Image for Leo Espluga.
44 reviews2,726 followers
November 12, 2021
Es sorprendente ver como una mente tan asomborsamente brillante y potente como la de Leibniz cae en el Dios antropomorfico.
Este libro contiene reflexiones magnificas sobre la monada, la busqueda de la verdad esparcida el todo y la substancia.
Me quedo con la monada que expresa en un singular la totalidad.
Profile Image for Lmaoh.
21 reviews
February 12, 2025
Much easier than the Spinoza, also less interesting. Leibniz isn’t without his quirks still (the monads being windowless, containing a pre-established harmonious multiplicity: a history without time).

It’s also funny that the both of them have sections calling out Descartes: “He’s a clever guy but wrong, and his followers are annoying�
389 reviews5 followers
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October 24, 2024
Leibniz is a legendary rationalist and polymath, but reading the Discourse on Metaphysics and the Monadology has failed to persuade me that he’s philosophically in tune with the world I inhabit. Voltaire was right.
Profile Image for Esioan.
84 reviews5 followers
June 22, 2022
'Every person or substance is like a small world expressing the large world.'

Comfy.
Profile Image for paula.
64 reviews13 followers
September 1, 2022
al principio estaba así :D y al final quede completamente confundida
15 reviews
June 8, 2023
Amazing, but really difficult to read.
108 reviews10 followers
August 20, 2023
يعيب الكتاب كثرة الهوامش وطول المقدمة.
Profile Image for Skylar.
154 reviews
September 12, 2023
This one I did not learn a ton from. But he compares well to Spinoza and Descartes.
Profile Image for Pedro W S Souza.
1 review
January 21, 2023
Devo admitir que achei a leitura tediosa, talvez pelo meu pouco aprofundamento nos temas. Além disso, estou lendo muitos livros relacionados à religião, porém prefiro autores com pegadas mais pós-modernas e existencialistas
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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