Leibniz's Monads and the Two Clock Relation

created by alk214

(idea) by alk214 (2.7 hr) (print) ? I like it! Sun Jun 03 2007 at 0:04:41

The Two Clocks Relation is a hypothetical teleological instance used to support theories of quintessential matter and natural harmony in the Universe.

It is most frequently used to explicate Gottfried Leibniz's theory of monadic existence, a pseudo-spiritualistic position that asserts that there is no difference between the intellect and matter, because everything that is perceived by people as matter is in fact consistent of spiritual quanta called "monads" (and, during Leibniz's time, "intellect" was considered by most to be purely spiritual). Monads, Leibniz said, do not have any physical properties, and do not interact with each other dimensionally, and that people perceive material interaction because the monads that they consist of are harmonized with the monads of other materials so as to produce the understanding of interaction. The only way Leibniz could maintain these far-fetched claims was by legitimizing the harmony of the monads that make everything in the Universe up. Nowadays, Leibniz's method of doing so is explicated with the "Two Clocks Relation".

Leibniz's legitimization was very simple: He claimed that because all existents in the Universe were produced immediately by God that they are all essentially identical expressions, and that they therefore all have precisely the same properties. The only differentiation in that which is perceived to be matter is how and when the monads exist in relation to each other, i.e. whether a cluster of monads forms, by coincidence, a person or a stone. Leibniz certified, however, that regardless of what those monads form, they should maintain their individuality forever, such that each monad, regardless of its state or position, should change only in concordance to every other existent monad. This legitimization is characterized as a "Two Clocks Relation" because it is approximately congruous to the observable concordance of two perfect timepieces that are set at the same time; for as long as they remain perfect (as the monads are, as nonreactive products of God), they should forever be in harmony, acting together without aberration.

The only source for this article is Bertrand Russel's "The History of Western Philosophy."

printable version
chaos

The Monadology	Nonsense on stilts	What the fuck is this shit?	Gonads and Strife
Types of visas	monad	What would you sacrifice a dream for?	The Hermit's Sacrifice
Ericsson	Two of them. Hovering there like bloated gas giants in the heavens. Good God, it was beautiful.	Two Characters in Search of a Restaurant	C.P. Snow's two cultures and music
Cats make great alarm clocks	SID	nonsense and philosophy	Leibniz's philosophy
Brian Aldiss	Teleological	I want to be a dirty old man when I grow up

Y'know, if you log in, you can write something here, or contact authors directly on the site. Create a New User if you don't already have an account.

Login
Password

remember me
password reminder
register

Everything2 Help

The best nodes of all time:
The Third Man
Thermopylae
To Wriggle, to Writhe
Ghosts I have known
Islamic Calendar
A little bit tired, a little bit drunk, all yours
A Thousand and One Arabian Nights
sewing machine
Q
mouser
kimono
Freelance Contract
Sam Phillips

Ereneta
Stone Soup, Part Two	(person)
jjen
Sorrier than I ever thought I would be	(personal)
locke baron
Moskva class antisubmarine cruiser	(thing)
Wuukiee
May 15, 2008	(idea)
locke baron
Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier	(thing)
_lesra
for abby	(thing)
Adaptive Child
Annie's garden salsa	(recipe)
Simulacron3
Zig-Zag	(thing)
Ouzo
Special Grilled Cheese	(fiction)
Noung
Tiananmen Square Massacre	(idea)
aneurin
Lord St Clair	(person)
artman2003
Assholes and Douchebags: A Comparison	(person)
locke baron
Tyan Thunder K8WE	(thing)
locke baron
Udaloy class destroyer	(thing)
Scaevola
Same-sex marriage	(idea)

This page courtesy of The Everything Development Company