Leibniz: Theory of Knowledge

Question 1

What are the principles of the universal cosmic harmony according to Leibniz?

Answer 1

mathematics and theology

Question 2

Leibniz thought that the principles of logic and method of mathematics could provide the right approach for finding truth about reality. Just like Galileo, he believed that the universe is a harmonious system written in a mathematical language by God.

Answer 2

Both statements are true

Question 3

Descartes and Spinoza did not share the same methodological ideals. Leibniz was never satisfied with their systems.

Answer 3

First statement is false, second true

Question 4

Leibniz worked for a universal perfect language which he called “a universal language”. He stated that complex arithmetic concepts can be reduced to combinations of more elementary concepts and eventually developed system of binary mathematics = all numbers may be expressed as combinations of 1s and 0s.

Answer 4

Both statements are true

Question 5

What are the methods of his task?

Answer 5

Method 1 - reduce all concepts into their elementary units

Method 2 - present them by mathematical symbols

Method 3 - formulate correct rules for combining the symbols; make the grammar of his symbolic language correspond to the logical structure of the world.

Question 6

Leibniz reflections on epistemological matters do not rival his reflections on logic, metaphysics, divine justice, and natural philosophy in terms of quantity. He did not think deeply about the possibility and nature of human knowledge.

Answer 6

First statement is true, second false

Question 7

What is the short treatise Leibniz had published in 1684?

Answer 7

Meditations on Knowledge

Question 8

What is the Meditations on Knowledge all about?

Answer 8

series of distinctions for human knowledge or cognition (cognito)

Question 9

Knowledge is either confused or distinct. Clear knowledge is either obscure or clear.

Answer 9

Both statements are false

Question 10

Distinct knowledge is either inadequate or adequate. Adequate knowledge is either symbolic or intuitive.

Answer 10

Both statements are true

Question 11

According to Leibniz, clear knowledge means being able to recognize something that is represented to us. Knowledge is both clear and distinct when one can enumerate marks sufficient to distinguish a thing from other things.

Answer 11

Both statements are true

Question 12

What do you call when one can give such an enumeration where it possesses a distinct notion of a thing?

Answer 12

nominal definition

Question 13

If a notion is complex and we are able to consider all its component notions simultaneously, then our knowledge of it is intuitive.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

Leibniz believes his distinctions also serve to show the difference between true and false ideas. According to him, “An idea is untrue when its notion is possible and true when it includes a contradiction.”

Answer 14

First statement true, second false

Question 15

Since there can be no genuine causal interaction among substances, then all our ideas could come from experience. Leibniz believed that some ideas, are innate and can never be derived from sense experience, like mathematics.

Answer 15

First statement false, second true

Question 16

Sense experience can never provide us with certain truths. If some knowledge has these qualities, they must be innate ideas that the mind discovers within the self.

Answer 16

Both statements are true

Question 17

Leibniz expresses that no doubt that the human mind or soul is essentially immaterial. Locke’s skepticism about the nature of substance is fundamentally aligned with Leibniz.

Answer 17

First statement true, second false

Question 18

Leibniz reformulated the Lockean or empiricists’ claim that there is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses. He pointed out that we could never have the knowledge we have if the mind was a tabula rasa at the very beginning.

Answer 18

Both statements are true

Question 19

Leibniz distinguished between truths of reasoning and truths of fact between necessary truths only.

Answer 19

False

Question 20

Truth of facts are based on the principle of sufficient reason, which states that no fact can be real or existent, and no statement is true unless there is a sufficient reason why it is so.

Answer 20

Both statements are true

Question 20

All truths of reasoning can not be resolvable into primitives or identities. In the case of a truth of fact, its reason cannot be discovered through a finite process of analaysis.

Answer 20

First statement is true, second false

Question 21

Truths of reason are not necessary and their opposite is impossible. It is know a posteriori.

Answer 21

First statement is false, second true

Question 22

Leibniz does not disagree with Locke about the nature of mind and the possibility of innate ideas. It is also Leibniz’s contention that human beings are not capable of knowledge in a way that Locke had clearly denied.

Answer 22

First statement is true, second is false

Question 23

Leibniz holds that we can have genuine knowledge of the real essences of things. We can know certain things not only about individuals but also their species and genera.

Answer 23

Both statements are true