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372Thought, Color, and Intelligibility in the New EssaysIn Wenchao Li (ed.), Für Unser Glück oder das Glück Anderer: Vortrage des X. Internationalen Leibniz-Kongresses, vol. 5, Georg Olms. pp. 49-57. 2016.I argue that Leibniz's rejection of the hypothesis of thinking matter on grounds of unintelligibility conflicts with his position on sensible qualities such as color. In the former case, he argues that thought must be a modification of something immaterial because we cannot explain thought in mechanical terms. In the latter case, however, he (rightly) grants that we cannot explain sensible qualities in mechanical terms, that is, cannot explain why a certain complex mechanical quality gives rise …Read more
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304Leibniz on Concepts and Their Relation to the Senses (Leibniz über Begriffe und ihr Verhältnis zu den Sinnen)In Dominik Perler & Markus Wild (eds.), Sehen und Begreifen. Wahrnehmungstheorien in der Frühen Neuzeit, De Gruyter. pp. 235-264. 2008.Despite holding that all concepts are strictly speaking innate, Leibniz attempts to accommodate the common belief that at least some concepts are adventitious by appealing to his theory of ideal action. The essential idea is that an innate concept can be considered adventitious, in a sense, just in case its ideal cause is to be found outside the mind of the one who possesses the concept. I explore this attempt at accommodation and argue that it fails. [See external link for English draft.]
APA Eastern Division
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics |
Ethics |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |
19th Century Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy |
Social and Political Philosophy |