WHOLEDUDE – WHOLEDESIGNER – WHOLE MONAD:
The word ‘monad’ means a unit, something simple and indivisible, and refers to unity. In Biology, monad refers to any simple, single-celled organism specifically a simple type of flagellated protozoa or protist. In Chemistry, monad refers to a monovalent atom, element, or radical. In Philosophy, monad is an entity or elementary being thought of as a microcosm or ultimate unit. Monadism is the theory that the universe consists of monads.
MONADOLOGY – THE METAPHYSICAL DOCTRINE OF LEIBNIZ:
Leibniz is associated with the philosophical theory called ‘Panpsychism'( from Greek – pan – all and psyche – soul) which asserts that a plurality of separate and distinct psychic beings or minds constitute reality. Panpsychism is distinguished from ‘Pantheism'(everything is God). According to Leibniz, the world is composed of atoms of energy that are psychic. These basic elements or atoms are named monads. These monads have different levels of consciousness; in inorganic reality they are sleeping, in animals they are dreaming, in man they are waking. Further, Leibniz asserts that God is the fully conscious monad. In the metaphysics of Leibniz, the basic constituent element of physical reality is an indivisible, impenetrable unit of substance. He allows just one type of element in the build of the universe. The unique element has been given the general name of monad. He describes a basic order of three things; 1. created monads, 2. souls with perception and memory, and 3. spirits or rational souls. The degree of perfection in each case corresponds to their psychic abilities. Leibniz tried to reason that everything exists according to a reason and everything which exists has a sufficient reason to exist. He tried to solve the problem of mind-body dualism introduced by Rene Descartes. Leibniz speaks of pre-established harmony that can solve the mind-body problem. Descartes thinks that the ‘soul’ is distinct from the physical body and its nature is to ‘think’. Leibniz opposed John Locke’s theory that the mind is a “tabula rasa”(blank tablet) at birth and humans learn only through the senses. John Locke defined consciousness as a psychological condition. It is described as the perception of what passes in a man’s mind. Consciousness is viewed as a form of relationship or act of the mind towards objects in nature. Leibniz is regarded as a universal genius and is regarded as a founder of modern science. He anticipated the development of symbolic logic and, independently of Newton invented the Calculus with a superior notation. He attempted to build an institutional framework for the Sciences in central Europe and Russia. At his urging the Brandenburg Society(The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities) was founded in 1700. The purpose of the Academy is that of bringing unity between Natural Sciences and Humanities.
MIND vs BODY – THE UNITY OF SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES:
Due to a lack of unity between Natural Sciences and Humanities, we are not able to describe the reality of man, and have failed to describe the reality of this universe using words to which a definite meaning is attached. The universe is build using units such as Matter, Energy, Space, and Time. Man is composed of atoms, and chemical elements like any other form of physical matter. The difference is that of the nature of existence. The physical, non-living matter requires no supply of energy from an external source to maintain its physical existence. The living things that include all “monads” apart from man need continuous supply of energy from the external environment to sustain existence. The atoms and chemical elements of man do have mass and energy and yet that energy is not available for maintaining the living condition.
The term ‘Soul’ and ‘Spirit’ is often associated with attributes such as intelligence, consciousness, and mental activity such as thinking and discernment. The term ‘intelligence’ should not be limited to the cognitive and discerning abilities of mind or brain. If the term intellect refers to the ability to perform intelligent actions, we may have to consider that all living functions have the characteristics of intelligent actions as compared to mechanical or transitive actions that could be performed by non-living physical matter. I would like to define the word ‘intellect’ as the intuitive ability with which each individual living cell performs very complex, sequential, guided, purposeful, and selective functions to maintain its own living condition. Knowledge is implanted in the substance called living matter to give it the ability to perform intelligent functions. What Leibniz has not recognized is the ‘dynamic’ nature of this basic substance or element that he has named as monad. This substance maintains its constant, unchanging nature while undergoing a change during its entire period of existence. Life is a dynamic process that involves the repair or replacement of its constituent organic molecules and taking immanent action that is called growth and development. This dynamic process is influenced by the operation of Time and manifests itself using the dimension called Space. For this reason, I would like to describe the Creator, the LORD God as a WholeArtist, WholeArchitect, WholePlanner, and a WholeDesigner who uses the building blocks of Matter, Energy, Space, and Time in a creative manner to establish the experience of reality.
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