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Leibniz’s Doctrine of Reincarnation as Metamorphosis

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Abstract

The Russian philosopher Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky (1870–1965) considered himself a Leibnizian of sorts. He accepted parts of Leibniz’s doctrine of monads, although he preferred to call them ‘substantival agents’ and rejected the thesis that they have neither doors nor windows. In Lossky’s own doctrine, monads have existed since the beginning of time, they are immortal, and can evolve or devolve depending on the goodness or badness of their behavior. Such evolution requires the possibility for monads to reincarnate into the bodies of creatures of a higher level on the scala perfectionis. According to this theory, a monad can evolve by being progressively reincarnated multiple times through a sort of process of metamorphosis from the level of the most elementary particles all the way up to the level of human beings or even higher. Lossky argues that the works of Leibniz contain scattered elements of such a systematic doctrine of reincarnation. He attempts to reconstitute this doctrine in an article that appeared both in Russian and German in 1931. The Russian version, ‘Ученiе Лейбница о перевоплощенiи какъ метаморфозѣ’ (‘Uchenie Lejbnica o perevoploshhenii kak metamorfoze’), was published in the Сборникъ Русскаго института въ Прагѣ (Sbornik Russkago instituta v Pragě), vol. 2, 1931, pp. 77–88. The German version appeared under the title ‘Leibniz’ Lehre von der Reinkarnation als Metamorphose,’ in Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, vol. 40, n. 2, 1931, pp. 214–226. The content of the Russian and German versions is roughly the same, except for the omission, in the German version, of a mention of David Hume in the second sentence and of one paragraph and a half at the end of the article. The following is a translation of this article. I translated the text from the Russian version, which was in all appearances written first, but I also took the German version into account. The original pagination is added in angle brackets. Angle brackets are used wherever the additions are mine. — Frédéric Tremblay

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Notes

  1. Principes de la nature et de la grâce, fondés en raison, § 4, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 599

  2. De ipsa natura, § 11, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 510

  3. De ipsa natura, § 11, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 510

  4. Principes de la nature et de la grâce, fondés en raison, § 3, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 599

  5. Principes de la nature et de la grâce, fondés en raison, § 3, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 599

  6. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 542

  7. Interesting for an accurate interpretation of Leibniz’s system is the question of whether the series of mechanical processes should be understood in the spirit of psychological idealism or in the sense of dynamic realism. I will leave this question aside, since it is not important for my topic. On this question, see: Eduard von Hartmann, Geschichte der Metaphysik.

  8. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 483; ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ 23, vol. III, 1713, II, p. 482

  9. Principes de la nature et de la grâce, fondés en raison, Gerhardt, vol. VI, § 3

  10. <In the German version, Lossky writes ‘the soul of the monad’ instead of ‘monads.’>

  11. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ 16, X, 1706, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 324

  12. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ 16, X, 1706, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 324

  13. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ 16, X, 1706, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 324

  14. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ 16, X, 1706, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 324; see also ‘Leibniz an de Volder,’ 20, VI, 1703, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 252. <The following note was added in the German version: ‘The expressions “primary and secondary matter” have a different meaning in other writings of Leibniz, but this question need not be addressed for the purpose of this essay.’>

  15. Système nouveau de la nature et de la communication des substances, aussi bien que de l’union qu’il y a entre l’âme et le corps, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 479

  16. Nouveaux essais sur l’entendement humain, Préface, Gerhardt, vol. V. <Note from the translator: Lossky does not provide the page number here, but this is apparently from pages 60–61, where Leibniz writes: ‘en vertu d’une grace miraculeuse fondée dans la seule promesse de Dieu qu’elles ne meurent point.’>

  17. ‘Leibniz an de Volder,’ XVI, July 6, 1701, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 224

  18. De rerum originatione radicali, Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 308. <Note from the translator: This seems to be a very loose translation of: ‘In cumulum etiam pulchritudinis perfectionisque universalis operum divinorum, progressus quidam perpetuus liberrimusque totius Universi est agnoscendus, ita it ad majorem semper cultum procedat.’>

  19. ‘Leibniz an die Königin Sophie Charlotte von Preußen. Lettre touchant ce qui est independant des Sens et de la Matiere,’ Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 508

  20. De rerum originatione radicali, Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 308. ‘Leibniz an die Khurfürstin Sophie,’ vol. VII, p. 543 ff.; ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ vol. II, p. 300

  21. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 544

  22. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 544

  23. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 543

  24. Système nouveau de la nature, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 480; Principes de la nature et de la grâce, fondés en raison, § 6, Gerhardt, vol. VI; Monadologie, §§ 72, 73, Gerhardt, vol. VI

  25. ‘Leibniz an Arnauld,’ September 1687, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 124

  26. Système nouveau de la nature, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 480

  27. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 543; ‘Leibniz an des Maiseaux,’ vol. VII, p. 535

  28. ‘Leibniz an Th. Burnett,’ January 20, 1699; Gerhardt, vol. III, p. 252 ff.

  29. De rerum originatione radicali, Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 308

  30. <Note from the translator: In the German version, Lossky added the following footnote: ‘The expression “transformatio” occurs in Système nouveau, Gerhardt vol. IV, pp. 474 and 480–481.’>

  31. Considérations sur la doctrine d’un Esprit Universel Unique, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 534

  32. De rerum originatione radicali, Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 308

  33. Principes de la nature et de la grâce, fondés en raison, Gerhardt, vol. VI, § 4, pp. 599 ff.

  34. Monadologie, Gerhardt, vol. VI, § 74, p. 619 ff.

  35. ‘Leibniz an R. Ch. Wagner,’ April 4, 1710, Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 530

  36. <Note from the translator: the words in angle brackets are present only in the German version.>

  37. Discours de métaphysique, Gerhardt, vol. IV, pp. 459–460

  38. Discours de métaphysique, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 460 ff., §§ 34, 36

  39. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 545. ‘Leibniz an Arnaud,’ September 1687, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 125

  40. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ April 24, 1709; Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 372. <Note from the translator: Here the word ‘traduction’ translates the Russian ‘традукцiя’ and the German ‘Traduktion,’ which Lossky uses to translate Leibniz’s Latin word ‘traducem.’ This refers to the theological doctrine of traducianism, according to which the human souls of newborn babies are generated, not by God, but by the souls of their parents at the moment of conception much in the same manner as human bodies are generated. See: Rudolph Goclenius, Lexicon Philosophicum, Frankfurt am Main: typis viduae Matthiae Beckeri, impensis Petri Musculi & Ruperti Pistorij, 1613, p. 1136.>

  41. Essais de théodicée, part I, § 91, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 152

  42. Essais de théodicée, part I, § 91, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 152

  43. Essais de théodicée, part I, § 91, Gerhardt, vol. VI, pp. 152–153

  44. Essais de théodicée, part I, § 91, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 153

  45. Essais de théodicée, part III, § 397, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 352; see also ‘Leibniz an Arnaud,’ November 28, 1686; Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 75; ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ September 8, 1709, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 390; Causa Dei asserta per justiniam ejus, Gerhardt, vol. VI, § 81, § 82. Principes de la nature et de la grâce, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 601; Monadologie, § 82, Gerhardt, vol. VI

  46. ‘Leibniz an des Bosses,’ July 31, 1709, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 378

  47. See, e.g., ‘Leibniz an Arnauld,’ Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 99; vol. IV, pp. 474, 480; vol. VI, pp. 543, 601, 619.

  48. ‘Leibniz an die Churfürstin Sophie von Hannover und an Sophie Charlotte, Churfürstin von Brandenburg und Königin von Preußen,’ Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 539 ff.

  49. ‘Leibniz an Arnauld,’ September 1687, Gerhardt, vol. II, p. 124

  50. Leibniz, Éclaircissement des difficultés que Monsieur Bayle a trouvées dans le système nouveau de l’union de l’âme et du corps, Gerhardt, vol. IV, p. 528

  51. Considérations sur les principes de vie, et sur les natures plastiques, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 543; ‘Leibniz an des Maizeaux,’ July 8, 1711, Gerhardt, vol. VII, p. 535

  52. Essais de theodicée, part I, § 19, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 114; Causa Dei, § 57, 58, Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 447

  53. Essais de theodicée, part III, § 343; Gerhardt, vol. VI, p. 318. On the journey of a man on the moon (while discussing a book of the Bishop of Chester Wilkins), Leibniz remarks that it is not possible in the present state of humans, because of the properties of the air. ‘Leibniz an Basnage,’ June 15, 1708; Gerhardt, vol. III, p. 147. On the possibility of celestial bodies on which the geniuses have a greater right than us to participate in affairs of rational beings, ‘Leibniz an Coste,’ from December 19, 1707; Gerhardt, vol. III, p. 403. On the destruction and reconstruction of the terrestrial globe, i.e., on a kind of death and rebirth of the earth, see: Monadologie, § 88.

  54. I already hinted at the aforementioned doctrines in the following books: The World as an Organic Whole, transl. by Natalie Duddington, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1928; L’intuition, la matière et la vie, transl. by M. Exempliarsky, Paris: Félix Alcan, 1928; Freedom of Will, transl. by Natalie Duddington, London: Williams & Norgate, 1932; Value and Existence, transl. by Sergei Vinokooroff, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1935.

  55. Hefele, Carl Joseph von, Conciliengeschichte: Nach den Quellen bearbeitet, Zweiter Band, Zweite, verbesserte Auflage, Freiburg: Herder’sche Verlagshandlung, 1875, p. 791

  56. <Note from the translator: The correspondence that Lossky is referring to is a letter from Cardinal Mercier, written on December 15, 1924, that Wincenty Lutosławski quoted from in The Knowledge of Reality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1930, p. 173), where the Cardinal writes: ‘La question que vous me soumettez est bien délicate. Je crois que l’opinion de la pré-existence et de la réincarnation, telle que vous la présentez et dont vous vous dites subjectivement persuadé, n’est pas formellement condamnée comme hérétique. Mais il est certain qu’elle va à l’encontre du sens chrétien et catholique. J’ai eu, j’ai encore égard, à votre bonne foi personnelle et ne voudrai donc pas vous accuser d’hétérodoxie pour tenir à votre opinion; mais présentée objectivement, je crois que la doctrine de la pré-existence et des réincarnations serait sujette à condamnation, et je ne pourrais vous autoriser à la couvrir de mon patronage, d’aucune façon.’ Lutosławski also discusses Mercier’s opinion in Pre-existence and Reincarnation, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1928, pp. 71–72.>

  57. <Note from the translator: Everything that follows henceforth has been omitted in the German version.>

  58. On this, see the work of Bishop <Kanevsky> Sylvester, Opyt pravoslavnago dogmaticheskago bogosloviya (Essay on Orthodox Dogmatic Theology), vol. III, 2nd ed., pp. 337–339

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, USA

    Nikolai Lossky

  2. Department of Logic, Ethics and Aesthetics, Faculty of Philosophy, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Frédéric Tremblay

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Correspondence to Frédéric Tremblay.

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Nikolai Lossky (deceased, 1870-1965) is the original author.

Frédéric Tremblay is the translator of this work.

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Lossky, N., Tremblay, F. Leibniz’s Doctrine of Reincarnation as Metamorphosis. SOPHIA 59, 755–766 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-020-00806-4

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