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Leibniz's Aesthetics This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. LEIBNIZ’S AESTHETICS The Metaphysics of Beauty Carlos N. Portales Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2019 2 I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where states otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. 12/03/2019 ______________________ ______________________ Carlos N. Portales Date 3 ABSTRACT Here I argue that Leibniz’s notion of beauty constitutes a coherent, although somehow implicit, position of realist and cognitive aesthetic formalism: beauty is metaphysically and ontologically explained as a formal structure, which is an objective property of things with objective value, yet at the same time accessible for subjective experience. In the first part of the thesis, I respond to the question what is beauty for Leibniz? The general answer is that beauty is a nominalist notion grounded on a formal structure, which corresponds to the formula of unity in variety or harmony. Beauty is not something in itself, but it is in things that comply with the formal structure of unity in variety, as well as some formal features entailed by this formula, such as wholeness, intelligibility and potential for pleasure. After gaining an insight into a general definition of beauty, I focus on the notion of variety and argue that it is not just a multiplicity of things, but also the degree of difference between those things. For Leibniz greater variety, and thus greater beauty, is achieved when something expresses a harmonic whole that includes not only perfectly consonant and similar elements, but also conflicting and dissonant elements. In this way, beautiful things can exhibit a sort of complexity in their variety –which may even appear as disorder–, as long as this variety finds an underlying order that reduces complexity and guarantees beauty. For Leibniz, order is indeed an essential requirement for beauty. I argue that what unites this variety and effects beauty is not one entity imposing over many, but an abstract principle of order that organises many diverse things. This principle is the unity that the postulated formula of beauty expresses. Thus, an entity is beautiful when its diverse components relate among each other in accordance with one principle of order. In the second part of the thesis, I argue that for Leibniz beauty is not only an objective property, but also an objective value, which is, nonetheless, available for subjective experience. The objectivity of beauty as a property consists in its independence from three factors: subjective recognition, existence, and God’s will. I explain that, in accordance with Leibniz’s philosophy, something is beautiful as a possible thing, before it gains existence, so even before it can be grasped by any subject. The beauty of a possible thing is determined by its compliance with the formal structure and requisites mentioned above. These rules of beauty do not depend on God’s will, but they are in his intellect just as are mathematical truths. Hence, beautiful things are as such not only independent from finite subjects, but also from God’s will. Likewise, the aesthetic value of the universe is also objective. This means two things; firstly, that beauty is not only valuable when appreciated by finite beings, and secondly, that nature’s aesthetic value is not meant only for our pleasure and happiness. I explain that the world’s value is perfection and, in turn, perfection is a rational order in the form of unity in variety, which is also beauty. Thus, unity in variety is valuable independently of valuers. Finally, I claim that for Leibniz we can experience beauty through distinct knowledge and also through confused perceptions. Since unity in variety is a formal abstract structure it is better experienced through distinct ideas. However, Leibniz also considers that this structure manifests itself through matter and we can experience confusedly through our senses. Accordingly, even if we are not conscious of the structure of beauty itself, we still can experience it. Indeed our aesthetic experiences can have confused elements as well as distinct ones at the same time. Moreover, experience of beauty can be a progression from more confused to more distinct not too different from the progress of knowledge. 4 LAY SUMMARY Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a polymath and philosopher who lived between the 17th and 18th century. He is famous for many mathematical and scientific discoveries, as well as for his insightful philosophical views on many areas of this discipline. Because of his merits, scholars have researched and written profusely about his ideas. Yet, one aspect of his philosophy remains poorly considered by researchers: Leibniz’s views about aesthetics, or more specifically, his philosophical ideas about beauty. In my thesis, I explain what beauty is for Leibniz, as well as how it relates to nature and us humans. As many of previous philosophers, Leibniz defines beauty as harmony. In turn, harmony is unity in variety. Hence, there is greater beauty when there is greater harmony, i.e. more variety with a higher degree of unity. What makes Leibniz’ view distinctive from the rest is what unity and variety mean for him. Unity for Leibniz is not the compression of many elements into one thing, but an order that governs the relations between two or more elements. Hence, there is unity wherever a set of things relate to each other with a certain order. On the other hand, variety is not just many things, but also the difference between two or more things. Thus, an object is more beautiful when it is composed of more diverse parts. Since a higher degree of difference among components is beneficial for harmony and beauty, a beautiful thing should include not only perfectly consonant and similar parts, but also conflicting and dissonant ones. Therefore, greater harmony is given by the inclusion of dissonant elements, which by themselves make things look chaotic. But according to Leibniz, true beauty comes from an order that unites the apparent chaos introduced by dissonances. So beauty follows the structure of a tonal musical piece that mixes dissonances with consonances, yet in the end, and as a whole, it always resolves dissonances in perfect harmony. In the same way, beautiful things can exhibit a sort of complexity in their variety that appears as disorder, but truly there is always an underlying order that reduces complexity and guarantees beauty. This order does not make dissonances disappear, it just shows that within a greater order they can find a correct place and thus become a contribution to overall harmony. Based on this idea, Leibniz claims that the natural world is objectively beautiful, i.e. it is beautiful even if no one is there to perceive it. If beauty is harmony, the world only requires to be harmonious in order to be beautiful, independently of any individual impression that humans might have of it. For Leibniz, God is perfect, therefore he cannot but create the most perfect possible universe. Since harmony is a sign of perfection, the most perfect possible world must be harmonious. Thus, the world must be beautiful and hence valuable even if we do not notice it. Yet, Leibniz insists that if we are wise we can indeed recognise the world’s beauty and its value. According to him, we can experience beauty in two ways: on one hand we can distinctly recognise the structure of beauty, which means to acquire intellectual knowledge of the abstract structure that orders a variety of elements, like when we hear a piece of music and consciously understand its rhythmic patterns and tonal structure. On the other hand, even if we fail to gain intellectual knowledge of the structure of beauty, we can still perceive it indirectly through our senses. For example, we can hear a piece of music, without distinct knowledge of its structure, but still confusedly perceive it through the melody of the piece. Thus, even if we are unaware of the structure of beauty we can still experience it. In this sense, Leibniz’s notion of beauty is characterised as the structure of unity in variety that is an objective and fundamentally valuable property, yet at the same time accessible for subjective experience. 5 CONTENTS Abbreviations 6 Introduction 9 Part I: What is beauty? 18 I. Perfection, harmony and beauty 28 II. Variety 47 III. Unity 69 Part II: Beauty as a property, value and experience 103 IV. Beauty as a property 110 V. Beauty as value 127 VI. Beauty as experience 159 Conclusion 205 Bibliography 212 6 ABBREVIATIONS A Sämtliche Schriften und Briefe, Darmstadt and Berlin: Berlin Academy, 1923-. AG Roger Ariew and Daniel Garber, trs. & eds., G. W. Leibniz: Philosophical Essays, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989. AT Charles Adam and Paul Tannery, eds., Rene Descartes: Œuvres de Descartes, new edition.
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