The possibility of vacuum in space and time in Leibniz

• Grant number: 16/00433-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2016
• End date: February 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Fátima Regina Rodrigues Évora
• Grantee: Eveline de Lourdes Ferreira Diniz
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In the Correspondence with Clarke, the old Leibniz, unlike the young one, does not allow the existence of vacuum in his philosophy. This denial occurs by the Principles of Sufficient Reason and of Identity of Indiscernibles, which are also used to deny the absolute space and time of Isaac Newton. In the correspondence, after all, Clarke, who is a supporter of Newton, says that space and time have existence per se, regardless of the bodies in the world. For Leibniz, in contrast, space and time exist as relations between these bodies, and do not have the absolute ontological status advocated by Clarke. This defense about the relational space and time, however, taken by itself, apart from the aforementioned principles, does not allow us to directly infer which position Leibniz takes about vacuum, if it is possible or not. Such possibility, in this context, in addition to the Principles of Sufficient Reason and of Identity of Indiscernibles, shall refer to the way space and time behave in their ontological structure, which, Leibniz says, is ideal, or mental, but able to be considered within the real. For our purpose, which is to examine the possibility of vacuum in space and time, according to Leibniz, it is necessary to analyze his arguments in this respect, through the history of his philosophy, so that the understanding of space and time will serve us as a reading key, in this proposal. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

DINIZ, Eveline de Lourdes Ferreira. The possibility of vacuum in space and time in Leibniz. 2018. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas Campinas, SP.