sufficient reason, principle of
- sufficient reason, principle of
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in the philosophy of the 17th- and 18th-century philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm), an explanation to account for the existence of certain monads despite their contingency. Having ascribed to existent monads indestructibility, self-sufficiency, and imperviousness to extrinsic causality, Leibniz distinguished truths of reason, whose nonexistence would involve a contradiction, from truths of fact, whose existence depended on God's free choice. The actual existence of the latter is explained by the principle of sufficient reason, which asserts that there is an adequate reason to account for the existence and nature of everything that could conceivably not exist. In each such case, the ultimate sufficient reason is the free choice of God. This principle received various formulations from Leibniz and from later philosophers.
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Universalium.
2010.
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sufficient reason, principle of — The principle of sufficient reason states that for every fact, event or state of affairs, there is a sufficient reason why that fact, event or state of affairs obtains. Leibniz viewed the principle as a first principle of reason, and it… … Christian Philosophy
sufficient reason, principle of — Principle usually associated with Leibniz, for whom it had a fundamental status, although found in earlier medieval thought, particularly that of Abelard . It is sometimes described as the principle that nothing can be so without there being a… … Philosophy dictionary
sufficient reason — sufficient reason, principle of … Philosophy dictionary
principle of sufficient reason — law of sufficient reason * * * principle of sufficient reason see under ↑reason • • • Main Entry: ↑principle principle of sufficient reason That nothing happens without a sufficient reason why it should be as it is and not otherwise • • • Main… … Useful english dictionary
principle of sufficient reason — See sufficient reason, principle of … Philosophy dictionary
principle of sufficient reason — see sufficient reason, principle of … Christian Philosophy
reason, principle of sufficient — see sufficient reason, principle of … Christian Philosophy
Principle of sufficient reason — The principle of sufficient reason (also called the Causal Doctrine) states that anything that happens does so for a definite reason. In virtue of which no fact can be real or no statement true unless it has sufficient reason why it should be… … Wikipedia
On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason — On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason[1] was originally published as a doctoral dissertation in 1813. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer revised this important work and re published it in 1847. Throughout all… … Wikipedia
law of sufficient reason — a principle in logic: for everything that is there is a reason why it should be as it is rather than otherwise … Useful english dictionary
