Ideas from 'Letters to Remond de Montmort' by Gottfried Leibniz [1715], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Leibniz Akademie Edition' by Leibniz,Gottfried (ed/tr [Berlin Akademie]) [Berline Akademie 1999,]].

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10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 2. Necessity as Primitive

12732

Some necessary truths are brute, and others derive from final causes

			Full Idea: There is a difference between truths whose necessity is brute and geometric and those truths which have their source in fitness and final causes.
			From: Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Remond de Montmort [1715], 1715.06.22/G III 645), quoted by Daniel Garber - Leibniz:Body,Substance,Monad 6
			A reaction: The second one is a necessity deriving from God's wisdom. Strictly it could have been otherwise, unlike 'geometrical' necessity, which is utterly fixed.

15. Nature of Minds / B. Features of Minds / 1. Consciousness / c. Parts of consciousness

19438

Our large perceptions and appetites are made up tiny unconscious fragments

			Full Idea: Our great perceptions and our great appetites of which we are conscious, are composed of innumerable little perceptions and little inclinations of which we cannot be conscious.
			From: Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Remond de Montmort [1715], 1715 §2)
			A reaction: I think this is a wonderfully accurate report of how the mind is, in comparison with the much more simplistic views presented by most philosophers of that era. And so much understanding flows from Leibniz's account.

18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / c. Role of emotions

19415

Passions reside in confused perceptions

			Full Idea: The passions of monads reside in their confused perceptions.
			From: Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Remond de Montmort [1715], 1715)
			A reaction: He thinks perceptions come in degrees of confusion, all the way up to God, who alone has fully clear perceptions. He blames it on these confused perceptions.

28. God / A. Divine Nature / 2. Divine Nature

19439

God produces possibilities, and thus ideas

			Full Idea: God is the source of possibilities and consequently of ideas.
			From: Gottfried Leibniz (Letters to Remond de Montmort [1715], 1715 §8)
			A reaction: A wonderfully individual conception of the nature of God. He produces the possibilities from which creation is chosen, and ideas and concepts are of everything which is non-contradictory, and thus possible. It all makes lovely sense!