Leibniz’s pre-established harmony

Leibniz’s pre-established harmony is a philosophical concept that he developed in order to explain the apparent coordination between mind and body. According to Leibniz, mind and body are two separate substances that do not interact with each other in a direct way. However, they seem to be coordinated in their actions because they were both created by God to work together in a pre-established harmony.

In other words, Leibniz believed that God had created the universe in such a way that every event is predetermined to fit perfectly into a pre-existing plan. This means that the mind and body do not cause each other’s actions, but rather they both act in accordance with the predetermined plan.

For example, if a person decides to lift their arm, it is not the mind that causes the arm to move, but rather both the mind and the body act in accordance with the pre-established harmony to make the arm move. Leibniz believed that this pre-established harmony was necessary because it allowed for a world that was orderly and predictable, as opposed to one that was chaotic and unpredictable.

Leibniz’s concept of pre-established harmony was highly influential in the development of modern philosophy, and it continues to be discussed and debated by philosophers today