The Leibnizian Philosophy of Subjectivity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/endoxa.38.2016.17549Keywords:
Cogitatio, I, life, perception, world.Abstract
Leibniz works out an original philosophy of subjectivity, which is formed in confrontation with the Cartesian cogito, alongside authors who take up Descartes’s legacy, namely the influential Arnauld. For Leibniz, the proposition “I think” is certain and evident; however, it is not a universal truth of reason, that could be the very foundation of all knowledge. It is a truth of fact, to which an insurmountably confused experience corresponds, which appeals to a special way of intelligibility. Within this framework, Leibniz delineates a grammar of the I, viewed as a relational structure, a singular expression of our shared world.
In the Leibnizian philosophical exercise, which culminates in the monadological system, subjectivity is interpreted as subconscious spontaneous dynamism, at the level of a primordial Self. Therefore, consciousness is the highest expression of the perceptive dynamism, through which the identity of the percipient subject is assured, although it is not the primary stratum of perception.
Downloads
References
ARNAULD, A., (1986), Des vraies et des fausses idées. Paris: Fayard.
DESCARTES, R., Oeuvres publiées par Charles Adam et Paul Tannery. Paris: Vrin.
GIL, F., (1996), Tratado da evidência. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda.
LA FORGE, L. (1664) Traité de l’esprit de l’homme et de ses facultés ou fonctions et de son union avec le corps, Amsterdam.
LOCKE, J., (1999), An essay concerning human understanding. Pennsilvania: Pennsilvania State University.
MALEBRANCHE, N., (1974), Réflexions sur la prémotion physique. Œuvres Complètes de Malebranche, ed. Robinet, tome. Paris: Vrin.
MALEBRANCHE, N., (1991), Entretiens sur la métaphysique et sur la religion. Œuvres Complètes de Malebranche, ed. Robinet, tomes XII-XIII. Paris: Vrin.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The authors who publish in this journal must agree to the following terms:
- The authors hold author’s rights and guarantee the journal the right to be the first to publish the work as well as the Creative Commons Attribution License which allows others to share the work as long as they acknowledge the authorship of the work and its initial publication in this journal.
- The authors can establish, on their own, additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (for example, placing it in an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), always acknowledging the initial publication in this journal.
- The authors are allowed and encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (for example, in institutional repositories or on their own webpages) before and during the submission process, as this can give rise to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and increased citing of the works published (See The Effect of Open Access).
