Acta Structuralica

international journal for structuralist research

Series | Book | Chapter

146976

Leibniz's monad

a study in melancholy and harmony

Ilit Ferber

pp. 53-68

Abstract

Detachment and absorption are two of melancholia's fundamental features. In this paper I try to demonstrate that these features can be productively connected to philosophical thought. I do so by focusing on Leibniz's fundamental metaphysical entity, the monad, which I interpret as revealing a melancholic configuration. My reading explores the special structure of the monad's encounter with the world, arguing that the structure of the Monad exemplifies the possibility of a productive relation between its utter closure and its philosophical openness to the world entailed in its activity of constant expressing of the world. This relation, I suggest in conclusion, manifests the structure of a metaphysics of mood.

Publication details

Published in:

Kenaan Hagi, Ferber Ilit (2011) Philosophy's moods: the affective grounds of thinking. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 53-68

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-1503-5_5

Full citation:

Ferber Ilit (2011) „Leibniz's monad: a study in melancholy and harmony“, In: H. Kenaan & I. Ferber (eds.), Philosophy's moods, Dordrecht, Springer, 53–68.