Abstract

In this paper, the author will attempt to analyze some of the basic concepts in Leibniz’s Monadology from the perspective of the contemporary philosophy of the mind. The aim of the paper is to suggest that the traditional understanding of Leibniz as a pluralist or parallelist, though not completely untrue, is not always completely revealing and fruitful concerning its possible value for the philosophy of the mind. By analyzing some of the core concepts, the author will attempt to approach the mind-body problem from a rather different angle, suggesting that the mind-body problem is to be regarded as an epistemological one, that is, it concerns how we know and speak of matter and nature.