Elasticity and Distribution of Force: on the Material Structure of Corporeal Substances in Leibniz

This paper examines the development of Leibniz’s conception of elasticity in the framework of his theory of force and its connection with the individuality of bodies. The main aim of the paper is to show how elasticity, according to Leibniz, constitutes the main conceptual device that allows one to conceive bodies as structures and also a necessary (albeit not sufficient) feature of what he considers to be real bodies. To do so, I firstly discuss Leibniz’s subdivision of forces into “dead”, “living”, “respective”, and “directive”, and their “economy” within bodies. Secondly, I address the problem of the conversion of living force into dead force and vice versa and show how the “economy of forces” is grounded in Leibniz’s conception of elasticity as a structural property of matter. I conclude by examining how the function of elasticity leads to a structural conception of bodies and by evaluating its metaphysical consequences.