De tempore: Leibniz’s Theory of Time

This chapter treats Leibniz’s relational theory of time. Opposing the reading of time as ordering only the phenomena, Arthur shows how temporal relations among simple substances and composites alike are based on relations of precedence among states of monads. These relations are based on Leibniz’s theory of requisites, where an earlier state is a “mediate requisite” for (or efficient cause of) later states, that is, a …