Determinism and Free Will: Descartes and Leibniz

Gottfried Leibniz has several theories when it comes to determinism, and he is the philosopher who states different deterministic views from his ideas on monads to his different principles that he states in his writings. Strict determinism, if followed may have one of two outcomes in society, either determinism can be seen as a comfort, or it may be seen as detrimental to social structure and order. Although in the most extreme, it is possible for it to be detrimental. However, it is dependent on a balance of a person’s nature, and what qualities of perfection God has granted them. People all have different and varying degrees of qualities, which they are already given when created, and it is through the attainment of knowledge and the application of reason that they choose the path, which they would follow. Leibniz believes that all that is to happen is within us already and comes out at the right time. In concerns to such, Gottfried Leibniz (1714/2009) states, “And since every present state of a simple substance is a natural consequence of its preceding state, the present is pregnant with the future.”

Believing in determinism is not something that means a complete loss of free will yet it is difficult to see whether we have free will if everything that will be for us is already planned and waiting to come out. Looking at the surface of determinism one may believe that strict determinism if believed and followed may lend itself to chaos in society. Free will is a matter of choice although the principle of sufficient reason charges that the choice is something where they could not have done otherwise dependent on prior events depending on prior events to infinity.

Cecilia Wee (2006) makes a point about how Leibniz says that one ...

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Davidson, J. (1998). Imitators of god: Leibniz on human freedom. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 36(3), 387-412. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210611444?accountid=4117

Wee, C. (2006). Descartes and Leibniz on human free-will and the ability to do otherwise. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 36(3), 387-414,458. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195307794?accountid=4117

Leibniz, G.W. (2009). The principals of philosophy, or the modanology. In R. Ariew & E. Watkins, (2d ed.), Modern philosophy; an anthology of primary sources, (pp. 275-283). Portland, OR: Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published 1714)