more from Gottfried Leibniz

Single Idea 19365

[catalogued under 20. Action / B. Preliminaries of Action / 2. Willed Action / d. Weakness of will]

Full Idea

For Leibniz, while the limits of our knowledge explain why we sometimes choose things we think are good but which turn out to be bad, the force of minute perceptions explains why we sometimes choose things that we know are bad.

Gist of Idea

Limited awareness leads to bad choices, and unconscious awareness makes us choose the bad

Source

report of Gottfried Leibniz (works [1690]) by Franklin Perkins - Leibniz: Guide for the Perplexed 4.IV

Book Reference

Perkins,Franklin: 'Leibniz: Guide for the Perplexed' [Continuum 2007], p.150


A Reaction

To be overwhelmed by selfish greed doesn't sound like a 'minute perception'. Leibniz thinks all desires are reactions to perceptions. Observing our degrees of knowledge is an interesting response to the intellectualist view of weakness of will.