Philosophy

UNIVERSAL

The fact that Leibniz is sometimes called the German Plato ' seems to be sufficient to claim that there are certain resemblance between the philosophies of these two distinguished men and evokes the intention to trace the similarities and dissimilarities between their ideas . Reading the dialogue Timaeus by Plato and Leibniz 's essay Discourse on Metaphysics proved that there is a whole range of issues which could be exposed to comparison . One of the most significant one is Plato 's account of the of the cosmos , which presents a pattern of

all-embracing harmony similar to that Leibniz proposes speaking of the universal

Let us dwell now on these two pieces of philosophy in more detail in to discover the parallelism between them . As was stated before the two philosophers ' views on how a universe is organized are united by the idea of harmony . The researcher shouldn 't be deceived by the difference in style and way of allegory , which may obscure a clear vision of the described phenomena . Yes , figuratively speaking , Plato seems to be more of an astronomer or even an alchemist in his metaphor whereas Leibniz reveals his mathematical and theological inclinations referring in turn to geometrical explanations and to ethical justification of the universal harmony . However , the core ideas remain the same . First and foremost , both of them attempt to prove that cosmos is based upon the principle of divine , which was specially initiated by the Creator or Demiurge . It is peculiar , that if it is natural to expect the belief in the single Maker from a Christian theologist Leibniz , it is somewhat surprising that it occurs to Plato in whose times monotheism was at least not mainstream . Whatever a name for the Creating essence is , in both cases it underlies the universal hierarchy , being the source for the initial creative intention . Both philosophers understand God as the ultimate perfection , as a moral maxim , which provides a pattern for his creations . Leibniz states : God is an absolutely perfect being . Whence it follows that God who possesses supreme and infinite wisdom acts in the most perfect manner not only metaphysically , but also from the moral standpoint . For Plato perfection of God is not only the static law of Universe but also the reason why he created the world : He was good , and the good can never have any jealousy of anything . God desired that all things should be good and nothing bad , so far as this was attainable . Thus , moral justification of the 's creation is present in both cases , although causality is more important for Plato , for , as he says , Now everything that becomes or is created must of necessity be created by some cause for without a cause nothing can be created . For Leibniz , it is significant that the , of which he will proceed to speak in his essay , was inherent in the act of creation as well , not only in the final product : But it is well to...