Leibniz (1646-1716) developed the Monad Theory as a philosophical doctrine of the true being and action of the spirit within metaphysics.
Philosophizing revolves around the question: What is man? In this case, the approach is to self-knowledge.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics (meta = above/after, physics = the material) deals with what holds the world and life together at its core. What is real in the literal sense, and what affects us and the world. Every coming to oneself means consciously experiencing metaphysics.
However, metaphysics is also the unrecognized area justified by reason. There is an insurmountable limit for reason: it is knowledge on one hand and belief on the other. The metaphysical realm of faith is characterized by great ideas: God, soul immortality, freedom, as well as harmony, justice, peace, and absolute love. These particular concepts have no content because there is no external sensorial perception. We can only approach them through imagination and faith.
This is surprising, because an opinion of these concepts may exist, and we may even think we know exactly what they mean. However, there is no “true“ definition. Augustine once said, “I know exactly what this concept means, as long as you don´t ask me.“ We only have an idea of what these concepts might mean.
When Leibniz was 15, he decided to study mathematics despite his great interest in philosophy. He wrote: “But when I investigated the ultimate reasons for mechanics and the laws of motion, I was quite surprised to see that it was impossible to find them in mathematics and that I had to return to metaphysics. This led me back to [Aristotle’s] entelechies, i.e., from the material to the formal, and finally brought me […] to the realization that monads or simple substances are the only true substances. Material things are nothing but appearances that are well-founded and interconnected.“
Leibniz wanted to find out what and why the world is as it is. He was one of the rationalists who wanted to understand and to explain the world through thought. The basis of the world is metaphysical and lies beyond things. Since it cannot be recognized, metaphysics is a mind speculation. It requires faith through the heart. According to Leibniz, it is the source of great ideas and of what is always there, but cannot be learned or invented, as it constitutes man’s core being. These ideas that the mind receives from the heart are few and great.
Leibniz recognized that ideas are positive. There is no such thing as the idea of evil, of lies. To achieve inner harmony between heart and mind, there must be a positive basis for unity. The conflict between heart and mind must be resolved to achieve innate ideas.
Leibniz was not naive, believing that everything is good. He grew up after the Thirty Years’ War and knew about the misery, destruction, and torment of war. His turn to a worldview determined by the idea of harmony was not a defense against this evil. It was his inner realization that this misery cannot be the truth.
The world can be explained by metaphysics, with as little speculation as possible. This is achieved by orientation towards ideas. Great ideas form the basis of rational metaphysics. This is made possible by reason, as the synthesis of heart and mind. The heart provides impulses for evaluation. The mind processes ideas, makes them conscious, and combines them into unity.
There is a method for laying the foundations of metaphysical philosophy. For Leibniz, this is the principle of sufficient reason, which states that everything has a reason. If we ask ourselves why something exists and have an answer, then we can ask again for the reason for this answer, and so on. This works until we get to the root of knowledge. Ludwig Wittgenstein had a nice image for this: the basis is where the spade bends. If we now ask” Why?“ again, we come to metaphysics.
Monads
The theory of monads concerns the answer to the question: Why is there something and not nothing? Why is this something like this and not otherwise? This something includes living beings and the entire universe. Consider findings from physics and chemistry: An oxygen atom has chemical and physical properties only because there is a substance that determines these properties, which is the reason for its existence. This metaphysical substance, called a monad, is infinitely small and cannot be broken down into parts. There is an infinite number of monads, all of which are different.
The term “monad” comes from Giordano Bruno, who took it from Pythagoras. Monad (literally “one“, “unity“) is a living unit. God created it and it exists forever.
A monad is infinitely small. This means it can be made clear by a mathematical interpretation: If we add an infinitely small number A to a number 2, the sum is still 2, even though A is greater than zero.
Leibniz also assumed that everything can be divided as often as desired. Atoms are divisible. If we base our calculations on modern quantum physics, then even the strings that make up atoms are divisible. There are no atoms in the sense of existing, indivisible spatial building blocks. Everything consists of a continuum of infinitely small monads that form a huge sea. There are also no jumps, just gentle transitions.
Space and time are created by monads, which themselves remain outside time and space. The sea of monads is the actual substance that creates the universe and keeps it existing. This sea can also be imagined as the Gnostic Pleroma.
Everything has a monad that contains all properties of behavior in the past and in the future. It determines the body or the soul and can be seen as the current mental state or its essence.
The monad of an oxygen atom contains all the physical and chemical properties of this atom. If the monad changes, then the oxygen atom also changes.
Harmony
A monad has a state that determines the current properties of the atom, e.g., its weight. It is harmoniously connected to the atom, to its body. There is no causality nor determination, but both, of their own accord, behave in the same way. Leibniz calls this mutual coordination, or pre-established harmony. It is established with the creation of the monad and lasts forever.
For Leibniz, the idea of harmony is the basic concept that can only be conveyed by images. Let us imagine two people who have no sensorial perception; who are deaf, blind, with no sensation of touch. To the sound of music, they both begin to dance the tango, improvising but perfect – just like that, without any communication. That is harmony, and that is exactly what the monads do with their atoms and with each other.
Each monad has the urge to modify its state, which is then shown through harmony in matter. These changes are subject to natural laws known in physics and chemistry. If two hydrogen atoms with their monads are added and combined with oxygen to form a new unit, another monad begins to determine the now composed aggregate (H2O, water). Water properties cannot be deduced from the properties of its components. This is because the new monad conceals some of these properties and determines new ones. The composite is then more than the sum of its parts.
This creates a hierarchy. Compositions are determined by their own monads, which in turn are parts of larger, comprehensive aggregates. This encompassing continues up to the highest monad, God. God encompasses everything and thus brings everything into unity. Just as the comprehensive monad gives identity and new properties to the aggregate, so God does to everything. Since God only seeks good, all monads strive for good and thus for perfection (entelechy).
If we look at the interaction of monads from the outside, there are relationships, e.g., causality, repulsion, attraction, creation, and dissolution of aggregates. All monads and thus everything are connected. Regarding monads themselves, there are no interactions; they behave on their own accord as if they were interacting. The entire universe is a huge, harmonious dance. Monads are completely independent, i.e., free from one another, and act in the sea of harmony. Each monad, therefore, simply does everything that really defines it – and ultimately only what is inherent – without taking anything else into account, and that is precisely why everything runs harmoniously.
For nature to run smoothly, everything is present in each monad. The entire universe, including the past and future, lies in monads, which, however, only have a limited view. They only see what they need to exist. Leibniz says that monads have no “windows“. The divine primordial monad sees everything clearly and distinctly, but every other monad only has an image or a limited mirror of the universe, a certain individual view. This means that all consciousness is a special mirror of the universe.
Everything is contained in everything, so everything can become God. A monad can change its properties from within itself. Our oxygen atom can therefore also become an ether atom or an astral, spiritual element. The further the monad moves away from the material, the clearer its mirror of the universe becomes, and the closer it comes to God.
The drive is to change one´s state or to create something new, harmonious, and determined by God’s wisdom and goodness. Since God himself is a monad and all monads exist in harmony with one another, everything is in harmony with God. Since God is absolute love, all monads are expressions of this love. The being and development of everything is determined by harmony and the respective inner law, by the idea of a thing or a living being. Leibniz could therefore say that we live in the best of all possible worlds; a better one is perhaps conceivable, but currently unachievable.
This brings us to living beings who also have a monad: their soul. It comprises the aggregate of the body, consisting of monads, which themselves form smaller aggregates, e.g, liver, stomach, and bones. The soul has a consciousness with a relatively clear view of the universe. The closer a soul is to God, the more conscious it is, and the more it can see in its mirror of the universe.
All souls, therefore, can consciously become one with everything and thus also one with God. What is stopping us from doing this?
Every state of the monads corresponds to rules that serve as the basis for harmony. A breach of these rules is always possible through freedom, but it leads to disharmony, to the darkening of the mirror, and to the abolition of unity. The community of monads, however, has the urge to restore harmony. This is called the law of karma. Disharmony creates suffering, harmony creates clarity in the mirror, and thus happiness.
Since everything strives for good and urges to become more divine, more conscious, and more loving, God, the all-encompassing monad, guarantees that this is always possible. However, a decision against this is always accepted. This also means that the living being in question then receives a darkened view of the universe and falls into suffering.
Plants and animals are not aware of these possibilities. However, through reflection, humans can recognize the possibilities of their soul monad and determine what is holding them back from God. By removing disharmony, they can consciously bring their monad to a state closer to unity while maintaining individuality. Leibniz, therefore, speaks of a realm of grace. All conscious souls are granted the right to recognize God and the entire universe.
Leibniz was bound to the church of his time. He knew the fate of René Descartes and of his escape to the Netherlands, so he emphasized that there is no reincarnation, only transformation. He left open what happens to the immortal souls after death, when the soul monad lets go of its body. Since all monads have an eternal existence, for logical reasons, life can only continue after death, either through direct entry into the highest dimension or with a new incarnation, the creation of a new body. Only then can the path to goodness be completed, i.e., becoming one with everything.
God’s love makes this possible.
