UNIT 5: LEIBNIZ’S MONADOLOGY
INTRODUCTION TO THE MONADOLOGY
This document is approximately 2 sides of A4.
The only major philosophical work Leibniz ever published was the Theodicy, of 1710, when he was 64. Its title means ‘the justification of God’, and Leibniz wrote it in order to show that reason and faith can be reconciled, and in particular that the existence of evil is consistent with God’s perfection and goodness. It is a long and rambling work, and in the course of it Leibniz brings in many of his philosophical doctrines.
Probably with the encouragement of Leibniz’s friend and correspondent, Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia, the Theodicy was read and admired by Prince Eugene of Savoy. Prince Eugene wrote to Leibniz asking for a systematic summary of his philosophy, and the outcome was either the Monadology, or the Principles of Nature and of Grace, which was written about the same time. Scholars have always disagreed which. My personal view is that it was in fact the Monadology, if only because it is full of page references to the Theodicy. I have omitted these references in my translation, but they are included in the translation by Francks and Woolhouse.
It is also fair to say that the Monadology is quite difficult to understand for anyone who is not already familiar with Leibniz’s ideas. However, it is the most comprehensive and succinct statement of his mature philosophy (though with some important gaps), and I hope my explanatory notes will fill in the necessary background.
Leibniz wrote the Monadology, in French, while on a lengthy visit to Vienna in 1714. His French was normally quite good, but in my opinion this work is not up to his usual standards. The language is not always as precise as it should be; some of the sentences are very poorly structured; and there are a few unnecessary repetitions. All translators improve on the original by chopping up some of the longer sentences.
The Monadology was first published, in a German translation, in 1720, and then in a Latin translation in 1721. The original French was not published until 1840, in Erdmann’s collected edition of Leibniz’s works. As far as I am aware, the first English translation was by Robert Latta (with useful and detailed notes), in 1898. It has subsequently been translated many times. The most easily available translation is that by Mary Morris (Everyman Library, 1934), who was the wife of the Leeds Vice-Chancellor, Charles Morris, and after whom the hall of residence is named.
There are four manuscript versions of the text. Three are in Hanover: Leibniz’s original draft, with many corrections; a scribal copy A, also with many corrections; and a scribal copy B, with a few more corrections. The other is a copy owned by Leibniz’s disciple Christian Wolff, which is in Vienna. The Viennese MS seems to have been copied from a late version of A, and B is generally accepted as definitive.
The Hanover MSS have no title. The Vienna MS carries the title The Principles of Philosophy by Mr. Leibniz. Some scholars have taken this as evidence that it was Leibniz’s own title. I disagree, since Leibniz never referred to himself as ‘Mr. Leibniz’, and Principles is too grandiose a title for such a short work. It was first called the Monadology in the German translation, and the name has stuck. However, there is no evidence whatever that Leibniz himself used the term.
For my translation, I have used André Robinet, G.W. Leibniz: Principles de la nature et de la grace fondés en raison, et principes de la philosophie ou monadologie (Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1954). This contains all the variants, and is more accurate than the commonly used edition by C.I. Gerhardt, Die philosophischen Schriften von G.W. Leibniz, Vol. 6 (Berlin, 1885), pp.607–623. In a couple of places, I have retained a sentence from copy A.
It goes without saying that I consider my translation an improvement on its predecessors; but there are only a few, relatively minor passages where differences of opinion between translators affect the meaning. If you can’t read French, it’s always a good idea to compare two or more translations, to get a sense of the range of possible interpretations – it helps free you from the way in which one individual interpreter happens to have predigested the material for you.
Click below if you want to look at an image of the first page of Leibniz’s own manuscript. Note the extent to which he crosses things out and adds things as he writes.
Image of the first page of Leibniz’s MS.
Now, to read the text of the Monadology itself, click HERE to set it up in the top frame, and click HERE to set up the explanation in the bottom frame. By clicking on the paragraph number in the top frame you refresh the explanation in the bottom frame, and by clicking on the paragraph number in the bottom frame, you refresh the text in the upper frame.
Go to top
Go to the Index to Leibniz texts
Go to the Index to SL Unit
5
Go to SL Home Page