Christian Wolff on Perfection and Ars Inveniendi

Abstract

Descartes, Leibniz, Bacon, Spinoza, Locke and Hume have in common that they are all seventeenth and early eighteenth century thinkers who sought to discover a rational system to formulate an order of certain knowledge about the world. On the basis of evident principles, like the cogito, they have constructed a paradigmatically rigorous and systematic account of philosophy, by way of deductive reasoning. In order to discover truth, rigorous argumentation has to be formulated on the basis of unwavering principles, without compromising on certainty along the way. At the same time, new discoveries should be able to alter or add to what is established in this system of certainty. In order for these systems to sustain the changes of the world, inherent to the passing of time, enough space and openness for genuine innovation has to be maintained. The task these thinkers committed themselves to, is to find a balance and theoretical consensus in the variety of propositions describing the world, by searching methodically to maintain both certainty and flexibility. My thesis addresses the question of how Christian Wolff (1679-1754) implemented the possibility of innovation in his system of knowledge. Furthermore, I have analysed how this possibility for innovation is related to the possibility to realise perfection in knowledge and to perfect beings in actuality. It is my intention to demonstrate that we can work with Wolff’s philosophy in contemporary discussions of art and science, even though his philosophy has been developed in a profoundly different philosophical context. The conclusions of my thesis can be summarised by the following eight claims. - The actuality of beings is taken to mean their being in actu, both in the psyche of the knowing subject and as extra-mental beings. - A being is temporarily perfect if it maximised its self-unfolding in actuality and realises its telos. - Ars inveniendi is used to discover new knowledge of beings and their functioning. - Ars inveniendi is the skill to articulate possibilities that were unforeseen by reason and the intellect and on account of which innovations can be introduced into the system of knowledge that is constructed by deductive reasoning. As such ars inveniendi fits the criteria of the judgement that is both synthetic and a priori, and can be characterised as the ‘logic of fantasy’. - A set of propositions is temporarily perfect if it describes the being in actuality and its functioning as precisely and comprehensively as possible. - A set of propositions that is temporarily perfect is not to be taken as an indication that ars inveniendi can no longer be applied. - Ars fingendi has been characterised as the art of creating form, and is an essential part of ars inveniendi. It can also be taken to hint at the principle of what is called aesthetics by Baumgarten. - Wolff’s ideas on the art of searching for and discovering of perfection in beings establishes the unity of creativity, art, and science.