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Possibility, Agency, and Individuality in Leibniz's Metaphysics

  • Book
  • © 2007

Overview

Authors:
  1. Ohad Nachtomy

    1. Bar-Ilan University, Israel

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  • Detailed discussion of Leibniz’s view of Possibility
  • It connects Leibniz view of possibility and his view of actuality
  • An original approach to the questions of individuation and relations in Leibniz
  • A novel account of Leibniz’s notion of Nested Individuals
  • New insights into the questions of freedom and moral agency

Part of the book series: The New Synthese Historical Library (SYNL, volume 61)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-8
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Leibniz’s Combinatorial Approach to Possibility

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 9-49

  3. Possible Individuals

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 51-83

  4. The Individual’s Place in Logical Space

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 85-103

  5. Individuals, Worlds and Relations

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 105-121

  6. Possibility and Actuality

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 123-143

  7. Agency and Freedom

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 145-166

  8. Agency and Necessity

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 167-187

  9. Aggregates

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 189-213

  10. Nested Individuals

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 215-235

  11. Possibility and Individuality

    • Ohad Nachtomy
    Pages 237-248

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 249-268
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Keywords

About this book

Leibniz’s notion of possibility is one of his most significant contributions to philosophy as well as one of the cornerstones of his metaphysics. This work attempts to bring out the intrinsic subtlety of Leibniz’s approach to possibility and to explore some of its important repercussions in his metaphysics. This project involves an examination of some of the most difficult questions in Leibniz‘s metaphysics from this vantage point. The book consists of three parts, the first focusing on Leibniz’s notion of possibility, the second on his notion of agency, and the third on his notion of individuality. Leibniz’s preoccupation with the notions of possibility, agency and individuality is evident in his early writings as well as in his later ones. His combinatorial insights regarding the notion of possibility as a model for creating the world, his commitment to the traditional doctrine that activity constitutes being, and his view that individuals are the only true beings are among the formative and persisting tenets of his metaphysics. This work explores these tenets in some detail and seeks to highlight the connections between them. The first part of the book presents Leibniz’s approach to possibility by exposing his early presuppositions about the status and nature of possibilities (chapter 1); his notion of possible individuals (chapter 2); and his notion of possible worlds as constituted by the relations among possible individuals (chapters 3 and 4). The second part discusses the transition from possibility to actuality through the notion of agency.

Reviews

"This book should certainly be read by scholars interested in Leibniz's philosophy, but also by those interested in metaphysical topics in the history of modern philosophy." (Christian Leduc, Princeton University, British Journal for the History of Philosophy 17:4, 2009)

"What is outstanding about this book is the clear line of analysis connecting Leibniz’s views on possibilia in the divine mind with the determinants of contingent simple substances in the actual world. Nachtomy applies a similar analytic approach to the notions of complex substances and living beings, thus unveiling a new systemic configuration of Leibniz’s metaphysics and philosophy of nature." (François Duchesneau, Université de Montréal)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Bar-Ilan University, Israel

    Ohad Nachtomy

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