Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 12

Philosophy - Essay Example Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz’s concept of substance, like many other philosophers, was influenced by the Aristotelian concept of substance, conceived as that which bears properties but is not itself a property. However, it is interesting that while Leibniz more or less subscribed to this view, he rejected Spinoza’s monistic understanding of substance as a singular reality. He differed radically from both Descartes and Spinoza as regards the relation of mind and matter, and as regards the number of substances. It can be recalled that Descartes allowed for three substances, namely, God, mind, and matter, and that the essence of matter was extension. For Spinoza, he admitted God alone as the singular substance, while holding that both extension and thought are attributes of God. For Leibniz, he held that extension cannot be an attribute of a substance because there is a plurality of individual substances, and this he termed as â€Å"monads†. He stated that â€Å"T he monad, which we shall discuss here, is nothing but a simple substance that enters into composites—simple, that is, without parts† (Leibniz, 285). Each of these monads would have some properties of a physical point, but only when understood abstractly. The manner in which Leibniz describes a monad is essentially similar to the atoms of Democritus. However, there is also some similarity to the geometrical points of Pythagoras. Like Democritus’ atoms, monads are conceived of as the ultimate indivisible elements of reality which constitutes all material things. He stated: And there must be simple substances, since there are composites; for the composite is nothing more than a collection, or aggregate of simples. But where there are no parts, neither extension, nor shape, nor divisibility is possible. These monads are the true atoms of nature and, in brief, the elements of things