more from Gottfried Leibniz

Single Idea 7558

[catalogued under 9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / c. Types of substance]

Full Idea

Each substance is like a whole world, and like a mirror of God, or indeed of the whole universe, which each one expresses in its own fashion.

Gist of Idea

Substances mirror God or the universe, each from its own viewpoint

Source

Gottfried Leibniz (Discourse on Metaphysics [1686]), quoted by Nicholas Jolley - Leibniz Intro

Book Reference

Jolley,Nicholas: 'Leibniz' [Routledge 2005], p.3


A Reaction

Leibniz isn't a pantheist, so he does not identify God with the universe, so it is a bit revealing that substance could reflect either one or the other, and he doesn't seem to care which. In the end, for all the sophistication, he just made it up.