PHIL 2160 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Monism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHIL 2160
• Professor: Patricia Sheridan

Document Summary

The world appears to be composed of matter, but it actually isn"t there is no real material things in the universe. Even rocks have a kind of knowledge to them because they are monads. Leibniz is a rationalist trying to determine what we can talk about with certainty in the world like. Descartes, leibniz believes our sensory experiences are misleading. Leibniz will use logic and math to prove that the universe is composed of monads/spirits his accounts will never be based on sensation; instead, he gives us fundamental principles of logic. We can"t end up with this kind of universe although it is a compelling argument. Principle 1: predicate in notion principle (pin) we must identify distinction that makes us unique from everyone else. For descartes, our identities are made up of what makes us distinct from others leibniz is also interested in figuring out what it is about a distinct, individuated thing that makes it unique.