Philosophy Midterm Exam Study Guide

For Pedro Gonzalez Notes Updated on March 10th 2025 the Friday ending spring break.

What year was Leibniz born and when did he die?

Born in 1646 and died in 1716.

What was Leibniz's family background?

Leibniz was born into a Protestant family with a legal background.

Which philosophers influenced Leibniz during his early studies?

He was influenced by Bacon, Descartes, and Hobbes.

What major mathematical concept did Leibniz invent independently?

Calculus.

What roles did Leibniz hold during his career?

He worked as a historian, librarian, and diplomat.

What institution did Leibniz found?

The Berlin Academy of Sciences.

What was Leibniz's aim regarding the Catholic and Protestant Churches?

He sought to unify them.

What are the titles of some of Leibniz's major works?

Some major works include 'Nouveaux essais,' 'Théodicée,' 'Discours de métaphysique,' and 'Monadologie'.

How did Leibniz bridge philosophical schools?

He bridged rationalism and Scholasticism.

What is the significance of metaphysics in Leibniz's thought?

The importance is that Metaphysics represented the end of the Baroque era in philosophy.

What did Leibniz critique about Descartes' view of physics?

He rejected the static view of nature and emphasized force as the basis of motion.

What is a Monad according to Leibniz?

A Monad is a simple, indivisible, unextended substance.

What does Leibniz mean by 'windowless' monads?

Monads do not have causal interaction with each other.

What unique quality do Monads possess?

Each Monad reflects the entire universe from its unique perspective.

What concept explains the harmony of monads in Leibniz's philosophy?

Pre-Established Harmony.

How does God relate to the ideas of knowledge according to Leibniz?

God is the source of our ideas and knowledge.

What analogy does Leibniz use to explain pre-established harmony?

The analogy of synchronized clocks.

What are the two types of arguments for God's existence proposed by Leibniz?

Modified ontological argument and a posteriori argument.

How does Leibniz justify the existence of evil?

Through the concept of metaphysical optimism, arguing it's the best of all possible worlds.

What types of evil does Leibniz identify?

Metaphysical, Physical, and Moral evil.

What does Leibniz say about human freedom and divine prescience?

God's foreknowledge does not negate human freedom.

How does Leibniz describe God's knowledge?

By including pure intellection, vision, and middle knowledge.

What is innate freedom in Leibniz's thought?

The freedom to sin is preferable to its absence.

How does Leibniz define perception and apperception?

Perception is a hierarchy that includes insensible, sensations, and apperceptions is the ability for the mind to be conscious within itself.

What is the difference between truths of reason and truths of fact?

Truths of reason are necessary and a priori; truths of fact are contingent and a posteriori.

What concept signifies that each monad contains its entire reality?

Individual Notion.

What is innatism in the context of Leibniz's philosophy?

The belief that all ideas come from the internal activity of monads.

What was Leibniz's aim for his logical pursuits?

To discover truths mathematically through an 'ars inveniendi'.

What is 'mathesis universalis' in Leibniz's work?

The concept of universal mathematics.

In what cultural context did Leibniz's philosophical work take place?

The cultural context took place in the Baroque

What shifts did Leibniz make from traditional physics?

He shifted from physics of extension to physics of energy.

How does Leibniz illustrate the relationship between monads and God?

Monads have 'windows' that open onto God.

What is the significance of apperception in understanding the human soul?

Apperception is clear, conscious perception associated with memory.

What essential principle underpins the concept of contingent beings in Leibniz's theodicy?

Contingent beings imply God's existence.

How does Leibniz characterize the best of all possible worlds?

By maximizing good and minimizing necessary evil.

What role does memory play in human perception according to Leibniz?

It is part of the process of apperception.

What legacy did Leibniz leave in the fields of philosophy and science?

He synthesized philosophy, theology, and science.

What does Leibniz assert about the nature of monads and change?

Monads differ from one another and change internally.

What did Leibniz argue regarding moral evil's necessity?

He argued that moral deficiency is permitted for the sake of freedom.

What was the impact of Leibniz's work on the study of knowledge?

His work implemented a systematic approach to understanding knowledge through perception.

How does Leibniz's logic relate to invention?

His logic aimed at an art of invention to discover truths.

Leibniz was not interested in..

Fame

Leibniz left..

many of his papers behind

Leibniz was a very ____ writer

sharp ( easy to read )

Leibniz was a ______, _________, and a ___________

mathmatician, renaissance man, christian

Leibniz wrote the ________ and the ________

Monadology & Theodicy

Metaphysics has ____ branches

2

The 2 Branches of metaphysics are…

Ontology & Physics

Ontology asks the reader..

Why is there being to begin with? What are the fundamental building blocks of reality ?

Physics ( Philosophical Cosmology ) asks..

What is the nature and origin of the universe ? What exists?

What is the Contigency Argument for God ?

An event that is not necessitated to happen.

What are the key factors in the Contigency Argument for God?

1. Everything that exists has an explination

2. If the universe has an explination, there must be one

3. That explination is GOD

What are the 4 Essentials for the BIble?

1.Principle of Sufficient Reason

2.Principle of Differeation

3. Principle of Identity of Indiscerribles

4. Enthelacy

What does The Principle Of Sufficent Reason explain?

There are reasons for everything even when we do not know what it is.

What does the Principle of DIfferentiation explain?

Everything that is, is going to be different in some way from everything else, emphasizing the uniqueness of each entity.

What does the Principle of Identity of Indiscribes explain?

Things that cannot be distinguised from one another. ( the same thing is in fact different )

What is an Enthelacy ?

An entity that is self controlled. ( the state of having a goal )

A Mondad is..

A fundamental , indivisible and immaterial unit of reality that makes up all things . ( simple substances without parts )

A Contaus is ..

The drive within a being to enhance itself ( a will )

Is it true that that The physical world is moving into reality and the universe is more in material ?

Yes

The components of a Mondad include..

1. Indivisible

2. Unextended ( not in space and time )

3. Cannot be destroyed

4. Windowless ( interacting with one another )

5. They are like Meta Atoms ( non physical )

Something that is Ontological means that it is..

Related to the nature of being and existence

E

Entelacy means…

The final purpose of something

Mondads have a certain …

perfection

Corpus =

Body

A Mondad is similar to a …

Soul

A soul cannot have a ..

Sensation

Neccessary Truths are

A priori

Necessary Truths..

Can not NOT exist ( they must be real )

Truths of Fact :

A posteriori

Sufficent Reason:

No fact can be true/existing & no statement can be truthful without a sufficient reason.

There are ____ KInds of Truth

2

Reason means that..

The opposite is impossible (self contradictory)

Fact means that..

The opposite is possible

God is..

A truth of Reason

The universe acts,,

contigenetly

Radical=

Root

A priori means,…

Prior to experience

A posteriori means..

without experience

Sufficent Reason is :

The fact that everything must have a reason, cause, or ground

Contigent means to be..

Dependent on

Law of Inertia

Body & Motion

The neccessary being has the privilege of ..

existing

Pre Established Harmony is ..

An explination for the apparent casual relationships between mind and bodies

Perception :

We become aware of our environment through our senses

Apperception :

The conscious understanding and interpretation of perceived information

Essence

The native of something before it exists

Inscrutability of God :

We don’t know Gods plan in its whole

The problem of evil is..

The inscrutability of God

The 3 Kinds of Evil are..

Natural, Moral, Metaphysical

The 3 Approaches to Gods Existence are//

Theism, Atheism, Agnosticism

Theism is..

The belief that there is a God that maintains all things

Atheism is..

The belief that there is no God

Agnosticism is…

waiting for evidence to prove that God exists

Moral Evil is..

Evil caused by humans ( murder, lying, thefft )

Natural evil is…

Evil that happens on its own ( floods hurricanes )

Metaphysical Evil is..

The limitation of being

There are __ Types of Knowledge

3

The 3 Types of knowledge are..

Pure intellection, vision, middle knowledge

The Knowledge of Pure intellection is..

God knowing that everything is happening.