Appendices and Omissions

Sketch of a History ##

seems to have learned from Malebranche rather than from Descartes.

1One might generally wonder why PantheismThe philosophical view that the universe (nature) and God are identical, rather than God being a separate creator. did not already achieve a complete victory over TheismThe belief in a personal, distinct creator God. in the 17th century; for the most original, beautiful, and profound European presentations of it—though compared to the UpanishadsAncient Sanskrit texts of spiritual teaching and philosophy, which Schopenhauer considered the highest form of human wisdom. of the VedasThe oldest scriptures of Hinduism., all of this is, of course, nothing—all came to light during that period: namely through BrunoGiordano Bruno (1548–1600), an Italian philosopher burned at the stake for his pantheistic views., Malebranche, Spinoza, and Scotus ErigenaJohannes Scotus Erigena (c. 815–877), a medieval philosopher whose work On the Division of Nature was rediscovered centuries later.. The latter, after having been forgotten and lost for many centuries, was rediscovered at Oxford original: "Drford" - an OCR error for Oxford. and appeared in print for the first time in 1681, four years after Spinoza’s death. This seems to prove that the insight of individuals cannot assert itself as long as the spirit of the age is not ripe to receive it; just as, conversely, in our own days, Pantheism has become the dominant mode of thought among scholars and even the educated, although presented only in the eclectic and confused refreshment of SchellingFriedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854), a contemporary and rival of Schopenhauer whom he often criticized for being obscure.. This is because Kant had led the way by defeating theistic dogmatismThe holding of established beliefs as incontrovertible truth without critical investigation. and had made room for it, whereby the spirit of the age was prepared for it, like a plowed field for the seed. In the 17th century, however, philosophy left that path again and reached, on the one hand, LockeJohn Locke (1632–1704), who argued that all knowledge comes from sensory experience.—for whom Baconoriginal: "Baco." Francis Bacon (1561–1626), a pioneer of the scientific method. and HobbesThomas Hobbes (1588–1679), known for his materialist philosophy. had prepared the way—and on the other hand, through LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), a German philosopher and mathematician., to Christian Wolff. These two سپس prevailed in the 18th century, especially in Germany, even if ultimately only insofar as they had been incorporated into a syncretic eclecticismA conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm but instead draws upon multiple theories or styles..

However, Malebranche’s profound thoughts gave the immediate occasion for Leibniz’s system of pre-established harmonyoriginal Latin: "harmonia praestabilita." The theory that the mind and body do not interact, but were synchronized by God at the moment of creation like two clocks set to the same time., whose widespread fame and high prestige in its time provide evidence that the absurd most easily finds success in the world. Although I cannot boast of having a clear conception of Leibniz’s monadsThe fundamental, indivisible building blocks of the universe in Leibniz's philosophy, which he described as "soul-like" entities.—which are simultaneously mathematical points, physical atoms, and souls—it seems to me beyond doubt that such an assumption, once established, could serve to