more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
It is by means of things that we must distinguish one time and place from another, rather than vice versa.
Gist of Idea
We use things to distinguish places and times, not vice versa
Source
Gottfried Leibniz (New Essays on Human Understanding [1704], 2.27)
Book Ref
Leibniz,Gottfried: 'New Essays on Human Understanding', ed/tr. Remnant/Bennett [CUP 1996], p.230
A Reaction
This rests on Leibniz's relative view of space (as opposed to Newton's absolute view). If you need to re-identify a thing to individuate it, re-identifying the exact place or time seems impossible, but it is usually manageable with thing.
Related Idea
Idea 12506 A thing is individuated just by existing at a time and place [Locke]
| 14960 | Bodies are independent of thought, and coincide with part of space [Hobbes] |
| 17250 | If you separate the two places of one thing, you will also separate the thing [Hobbes] |
| 17249 | If you separated two things in the same place, you would also separate the places [Hobbes] |
| 12506 | A thing is individuated just by existing at a time and place [Locke] |
| 12563 | Obviously two bodies cannot be in the same place [Locke] |
| 12693 | A body is that which exists in space [Leibniz] |
| 13098 | We use things to distinguish places and times, not vice versa [Leibniz] |
| 21535 | Objects only exist if they 'occupy' space and time [Russell] |
| 16496 | Singling out extends back and forward in time [Wiggins] |
| 4480 | Times and places are identified by objects, so cannot be used in a theory of object-identity [Loux] |
| 8292 | Diversity of two tigers is their difference in space-time; difference of matter is a consequence [Lowe] |
| 7961 | A 'thing' cannot be in two places at once, and two things cannot be in the same place at once [Macdonald,C] |