Psicologia degli affetti nella riflessione leibniziana del periodo di Magonza: una alternativa a Hobbes?
In: Shift. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 2019
Permalink: http://digital.casalini.it/5155613
The paper addresses the theme of the psychology of action in Leibniz’s writings of the Mainz period to demonstrate that he attempted to conceive of an alternative to the model of human nature that Hobbes described in his Elements of Law and De Cive. Through a specific doctrine of pleasure, built upon his view of the mind as a “harmonizer of complexity”, Leibniz seeks to establish a psychology of action based on the reconciliation between individuals’ natural egoism and an equally natural disposition to love others. In this regard, I show that the validity of this attempt strictly depends on the possibility of working out a purified conception of glory, stripped of the competitive character typical of Hobbes’s anthropology.
Keywords: Leibniz, Hobbes, Psychology of Actions, Theory of Motives, Political Anthropology