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Single Idea 7568

[from 'works' by Gottfried Leibniz, in 11. Knowledge Aims / C. Knowing Reality / 3. Idealism / a. Idealism ]

Full Idea

To say that Leibniz is an idealist is to say that simple substances, the basic building-blocks of the universe, are all mental or at least quasi-mental in nature

Clarification

'Quasi-' means somewhat

Gist of Idea

Leibniz is an idealist insofar as the basic components of his universe are all mental

Source

report of Gottfried Leibniz (works [1690]) by Nicholas Jolley - Leibniz Ch.3

Book Reference

Jolley,Nicholas: 'Leibniz' [Routledge 2005], p.88


A Reaction

This is a bit different from the Berkelian type of idealism, which says that reality consists entirely of events within thinking minds. Is a monad the thinker or the thought?