Defense Date

4-6-2020

Graduation Date

Spring 5-8-2020

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Philosophy

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Daniel Selcer

Committee Member

Jay Lampert

Committee Member

James Swindal

Keywords

leibniz, folds, relations, intimacy, ideal, virtual, congruence, concurrence, contiguity, continuum

Abstract

My goal is to provide a clear explanation of Leibniz’s notoriously difficult system of relations. Relations among ‘windowless’ substances that exert no causal power over one another seems like a pipe dream that should be abandoned. However, I demonstrate that each substance expresses its relations only through the unique representation of all other substances. That is, any relation a substance expresses is due to this unique, perspectival, non-causal, representation of others. Because this is the case for all substances, this means that this relation of representation is an ongoing process of interconnection for all substances. This representation is not merely a cognitive copy of the universe (i.e. all other substances); it is the expression of all other substances from a distinct perspective. By taking a holistic approach, I show that Leibniz is not contradicting himself when he claims that substances are windowless, relations are ideal, all substances are interconnected, and there are no such things as purely extrinsic denominations.

Language

English

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