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Full Idea
That there should be a persistent law of the series, which involves the future states of that which we conceive to be the same, is exactly what I say constitutes it as the same substance.
Gist of Idea
The law of the series, which determines future states of a substance, is what individuates it
Source
Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Burcher De Volder [1706], 1704), quoted by Richard T.W. Arthur - Leibniz 4 'Applying'
Book Ref
Arthur, Richard T.W.: 'Leibniz' [Polity 2014], p.96
A Reaction
The 'law of the series' is a bit dubious, but it is reasonable to say that a substance is individuated by its coherent progress of change over time. Disjointed change would imply an absence of substance. The law of the series is called 'primitive force'.
| 14524 | Bodies are combinations of shape, size, resistance and weight [Epicurus] |
| 12971 | If two individuals could be indistinguishable, there could be no principle of individuation [Leibniz] |
| 19379 | The law of the series, which determines future states of a substance, is what individuates it [Leibniz] |
| 10194 | Two things can only be distinguished by a distinct property or a distinct relation [Black] |
| 17668 | It is likely that particulars can be individuated by unique conjunctions of properties [Armstrong] |
| 8520 | An individual is a union of a group of qualities and a position [Quinton, by Campbell,K] |
| 17647 | Kripke individuates objects by essential modal properties (and presupposes essentialism) [Kripke, by Putnam] |
| 15455 | Total intrinsic properties give us what a thing is [Lewis] |
| 8303 | Criteria of identity cannot individuate objects, because they are shared among different types [Lowe] |
| 16680 | Scholastics thought Quantity could be the principle of individuation [Pasnau] |
| 16785 | If you reject essences, questions of individuation become extremely difficult [Pasnau] |