Leibniz’s Metaphysics of Elasticity: From the System to the Individual

This paper aims at exploring the metaphysical significance of Leibniz’s conception of elasticity and its development during the 1680s. The first part is devoted to the discussion of elasticity as a system property in the Hypothesis physica nova of 1671. A second section shows the transition, in the second half of the 1670s, from such a conception to an understanding of elasticity as a condition for the spontaneity and individuality of bodies. Finally, through an examination of writings from the 1680s about the transmission of sound and the elastic properties of materials, I will reconstruct the underlying metaphysical framework characterizing Leibniz’s conception of elastic matter, namely the idea of a ‘mechanical mirroring’ which is proper to individual bodies.