“There are two labyrinths of the human mind, one concerning the composition of the continuum, and the other concerning the nature of freedom, and they arise from the same source, infinity” (Leibniz, On Contingency).

This course introduces students to central themes in the philosophy of Leibniz, with a special focus on the notions of perspective and infinity and the interrelations between them. We will discuss the Leibnizian key metaphor of the individual substance as “God’s perspective of the universe”, as well as various Leibnizian approaches to infinity, and will address the idea of the finite substance as containing infinity within itself. The interconnections between the finite and the infinite will be examined through a discussion of a wide range of Leibnizian issues such as, for example, human freedom; the ontological status of matter; the infinite divisibility of matter, mind-body relations; the problem of error; the universal principle of expression; and the relation between man and God.