ABSTRACT
I have argued that perhaps the deepest theme in Leibniz’s metaphysics is that substances, the fundamental building-blocks of the universe, are all mirrors of God (DM 9, WF 61). The theme may have roots in the Neoplatonic tradition, but Leibniz does not of course confine himself to recycling ancient themes; he presents new arguments for the thesis which address seventeenth-century concerns and problems. In the first half of the chapter we shall see how Leibniz criticizes two leading philosophical systems of his time, those of Descartes and Malebranche, for failing to do justice to the unity and activity of substances, properties which they all share with God. We shall then go on to see how in the Discourse on Metaphysics Leibniz presents a positive case for these and other God-like properties of substances. In particular, we shall see why Leibniz thinks that substances are in a sense omniscient and as causally self-sufficient as is consistent with their status as creatures.
