Are Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s metaphysics and philosophy of mind naturalistic? It may seem obvious that they are not. After all, Leibniz frequently relies on theological doctrines and argues that everything in the created world consists at bottom of immaterial substances that are beyond the scope of the natural sciences. Yet, Larry Jorgensen’s book argues the opposite—namely, that it makes perfect sense to describe Leibniz’s middle- and late-period philosophy of mind as fully naturalized. According to Jorgensen, Leibniz himself viewed his project that way and was indeed correct to do so, on a plausible conception of naturalism. Neither Leibniz’s rejection of materialism nor his reliance on theological doctrines undermines his commitment to naturalism. Quite to the contrary, his naturalism is grounded in theology.
Jorgensen’s splendidly clear and wide-ranging book is the culmination of his work on Leibniz in the past decade. It incorporates and expands on many of his previously published...
