Friday, March 26, 2021

Footnote Vhu53

Vhu53. In a jibe at empiricists, Leibniz compared them to unreasoning animals.
Common souls are ruled like empirics, purely by sense examples; but rational souls examine by reason (wherever possible) how far past examples are applicable to their present case. The brute souls, therefore, cannot apprehend necessary and general truths, just as an empiric can never be sure that what has often succeeded with him, without his knowing why, will again succeed with him in the future.
Further, said Leibniz,
It is probable there are rational souls more perfect than we are, we think of them as Genii and hope to be one day of their number. The order of the universe seems to require it.
As quoted in Leibniz by H. Wildon Carr (Little Brown 1929).
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