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Single Idea 13174

[from 'Letters to Johann Bernoulli' by Gottfried Leibniz, in 7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 6. Fundamentals / c. Monads ]

Full Idea

I don't say that bodies like flint, which are commonly called inanimate, have perceptions and appetition; rather they have something of that sort in them, like worms are in cheese.

Gist of Idea

A piece of flint contains something resembling perceptions and appetites

Source

Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Johann Bernoulli [1699], 1698.12.17)

Book Reference

Leibniz,Gottfried: 'Philosophical Essays', ed/tr. Arlew,R /Garber,D [Hackett 1989], p.169


A Reaction

Leibniz is caricatured as thinking that stones are full of little active minds, but he nearly always says that what he is proposing is 'like' or 'analogous to' that. His only real point is that nature is active, as seen in the appetites of animals.