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Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra presents a new study of Leibniz's Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles--a principle which rules out numerically distinct but perfectly similar things. He explores Leibniz's definition of the Principle, evaluates his arguments for and from it, and concludes that it was central but inessential to Leibniz's philosophy.
List of contents
- 1: Introduction
- 2: The meaning and status of the Identity of Indiscernibles
- 3: Some early texts
- 4: The Discourse on Metaphysics and Notationes Generales
- 5: Primary Truths
- 6: Leibniz's letter to Casati
- 7: Indiscernible possibilia and the perfection of the world
- 8: The correspondence with Clarke
- 9: Necessity revisited
- 10: The Cartesian material world
- 11: Atoms
- 12: Space and time
- 13: Minds
- 14: Accidents
- 15: Conclusion
- References
- Index
About the author
Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has taught at the Universities of Edinburgh, Nottingham, and Torcuato Di Tella (Buenos Aires). He is currently a Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy at Oriel College and holds the title of Professor of Metaphysics at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Resemblance Nominalism (OUP, 2002), and has written extensively on metaphysics and early modern philosophy.
Summary
Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra presents a new study of Leibniz's Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles--a principle which rules out numerically distinct but perfectly similar things. He explores Leibniz's definition of the Principle, evaluates his arguments for and from it, and concludes that it was central but inessential to Leibniz's philosophy.
Additional text
Leibniz's Principle of Indentity of Indiscernibles is a marvellous book.
