Leibniz' Concept of Monadology Essay

With so many principles that govern the realms of philosophy, those that often deal with the nature of man are the most interesting. There are many ideas and concepts that attempt to explain the many forces of the universe and these forces in the context of human beings. Monadology is one of these concepts, pioneered and propagated by Gottfried Leibniz. This concept is based on the concept of monads, which then forms the basis of more complex ideas such as God, the existence of man, the mind, and the soul. In reading "The Principles of Philosophy known as Monadology" Leibniz expresses his own philosophy and how he had come up with such beliefs. Leibniz's analysis and explanation of monads focuses on three main ideologies, which are the relationship of man with the universe, the relationship of man with his soul, and the relationship of man with God. In essence, the text attempts to put some clarity into these relationships by using monads as a platform for the explanations.

Leibniz defines the monad as a simple thing or substance that has no parts, but can be a component of something he terms as "composite". Leibniz further describes the monad as something that cannot be extended, is shapeless, and cannot be split up. Consequently, in the context of nature, Leibniz infers that all nature is made up of monads. A leaf, for example, is a composite structure. When broken down, however, a leaf will ultimately always be reduced to its simplest parts, the monads. Furthermore, since monads are the most basic units of all things in this world, they cannot come into existence naturally because this would suggest that they would have to be created by an extra-natural force. In addition, Leibniz argues that monads cannot be altered whether from the inside or the outside, so this quality of monads basically assumes that no physical change is possible with monads but some degree of difference exists from one monad to another. This difference is based on quality, or the idea that one monad can be qualitatively different from the other. Leibniz continues to use the concept of monadology to explain the existence of God as well as the existence of man.

Leibniz supposes that God is the perfect monad because everything in this entity is perfect and positive. God can therefore have no imperfections because this would directly challenge the nature of such a monad. Since a monad can neither be destroyed nor created, God is the ultimate monad. For instance, if human beings are made up the monad that is the soul, then the only source of that soul is God who is capable of bringing monads into existence. Recall that monads cannot be created naturally, and so the only way that a soul may come into existence is through creation. This implies that it does not come from anything and comes into existence solely from nothingness. In linking created things to God, Leibniz assumes that every animal or created thing is connected with monads, which are chips off the ultimate monad. Although the ultimate monad is perfect, created monads are not perfect the way the ultimate monad is. This is possible because the imperfection of created things comes from their nature, referred to as the natural inception or conception of things. The conception of a human being, therefore, is the source of its nature. When man becomes a body he enters the natural world and as such, acquires the imperfections that were initially absent in the monad that was created by God. This creation also infuses the created monad with qualities that are parallel with the nature of God. This is short of saying that the created monad is an accurate representation of God who is the universe, and so therefore, monads are also an extension of the universe. However, Leibniz clarifies this relationship by stating that the soul/monad reflects the universe by reflecting the body that it is assigned to. Hence, a soul is not in direct contact with the universe, instead it is in contact with the body that is a part of the plenum. The soul, in effect, has a predestination factor as it has been initially programmed by its creator. On the outset, this nature of the soul allows it to remain in constant communication