Leibniz reader of the Ethics: Spinoza's role in the Leibnizian reform of the notion of substance

Abstract

In this paper I analyze the possible influence of Spinoza’s notion of substance in the development of Leibniz’s metaphysics. First, I examine the context in which Leibniz reads the Ethics Demonstrated in Geometrical Order and his general evaluation of this work. Then I examine the changes in Leibniz’s notion of substance and I claim that, although his particular critiques to Spinoza’s definition, the way in which the latter understands the activity of the substance has repercussions in the metaphysics of the former and rises as a point of contact between their philosophical systems.