Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy: Volume 3 (of 3)
Georg Hegel · en
The representations of the monad in itself, which constitute its
universe, develop themselves from themselves, as the spiritual element
in it, according to the laws of their own activity and desire, just as
the movements of their outer world do according to laws of bodies; hence
liberty is nothing other than this spontaneity of immanent development,
but as in consciousness. The magnetic needle, on the contrary, has only
spontaneity without consciousness, and consequently without freedom.
For, says Leibnitz, the nature of the magnetic needle is to turn to
the north; if it had consciousness it would imagine that this was
its self-determination; it would thus have the will to move round in
accordance with its nature.[275] But it is clear that in the course of
conscious representations there is involved no necessary connection, but
contingency and want of sequence are to be found, the reason of this
according to Leibnitz (Oper. T. II P. I. p. 75) being “because the nature
of a created substance implies that it changes incessantly according to
a certain order, which order guides it spontaneously (_spontanément_)
in all the circumstances which befall it; so that one who sees all
things recognizes in the present condition of substance the past also
and the future. The law of order, which determines the individuality of
the particular substance, has an exact reference to what takes place in
every other substance and in the whole universe.” The meaning of this is
that the monad is not a thing apart, or that there are two views of it,
the one making it out as spontaneously generating its representations,
so far as form is concerned, and the other making it out to be a moment
of the whole of necessity; Spinoza would call this regarding it from
both sides. An organic whole, a human being, is thus for instance the
assertion of his aim from out of himself: at the same time the being
directed on something else is involved in his Notion. He represents
this and that to himself, he wills this and that; his activity employs
itself and brings about changes. His inward determination thus becomes
corporeal determination, and then change going beyond himself; he appears
as cause, influencing other monads. But this Being-for-another is only
an appearance. For the other, _i.e._ the actual, in so far as the monad
determines it or makes it negative, is the passive element which the
monad has in itself: all moments are indeed contained therein, and for
that very reason it has no need of other monads, but only of the laws of
the monads in itself. But if the Being-for-another is mere appearance,
the same may be said of Being-for-self; for this has significance only in
reference to Being-for-another.