Leibniz on the Expression of God

Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy 2:83-103 (2015)
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Abstract

Leibniz frequently uses the notion of expression, but it is not easy to see just how he understood that relation. This paper focuses on the particular case of the expression of God, which is prominent in the 'Discourse on Metaphysics'. The treatment of expression there suggests several questions. Which substances did Leibniz believe expressed God? Why did Leibniz believe those substances expressed God? And did he believe that all substances expressed God in the same way and for the same reasons? In answering those questions the paper distinguishes two views about expression in the 'Discourse', considers Leibniz's reasons for holding that substances express their causes, and argues that Leibniz's views about emanative causation are important for understanding the unity of his apparently distinct views here. The paper concludes by looking briefly at how the 'Discourse' fits into the evolution of Leibniz's views on this issue over time.

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Stewart Duncan
University at Buffalo

References found in this work

Leibniz: Body, Substance, Monad.Daniel Garber - 2009 - Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press.
Sämtliche Schriften und Briefe.Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz - 1967 - Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 23 (4):500-501.
Leibniz and the Rational Order of Nature.Donald Rutherford - 1995 - New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

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