hello, I know that things were a bit difficult last time, it's normal, it doesn't have to be easy, but if you don't mind, I’m going remember you, why we came to Leibniz, and it's in order to understand fictions, so I would like to tell you a few words in order to summarize what we have learned on Monday.

first, remember something about Descartes in order to guarantee the productivity of his hypothesis in physics, they have those have hypothesis have to be productive, they have to achieve the world we see, in order to guarantee this productivity, Descartes introduces a postulate, a very important postulate to postulate that all forms, all forms which matter is capable of successively materialize, all forms successively materialize and Leibniz conveys is id in a necessary which it tries to refute.

in fact, this says is ease only the things that exist at some time are possible, that is the way lay needs understands the Cartesian postulate, and you're about to have fun watching me with this machine, now it works that is that is a Cartesian postulate matter most successively, assume all the forms of which it is capable, remember these postulates is formulated in the fable , and that is the way Leibniz understands this postulate, this is some kind of translation, only the things that exists at some time are possible, of course Leibniz does not agree with this, his own only the way, he conveys the Cartesian postulate, but you have to remember this, besides you may observe that the way Leibniz.

it's formulates the Cartesian postulate is far broader, this mode it's more general, not only material forms all the things, and for Leibniz, this is necessary young faces, that was very important, and of course he's trying to refuse this, what is especially interesting for us, is that where are the Cartesian postulate was formulated in a fable.

the Leibniz and reputation puts this postulate to the test of the argument of novels, you see all rules metaphysical decisions are linked with fictions, the Cartesian postulate is formulated in a fable, and the way and Leibniz tries to refuse this by using the argument of novels. I guess you remember this.

on the one hand, fiction works as a context, it's a context, Descartes formulate his postulate in the fable, but on the other hand, fiction illustrates a principle that would or would not according to Leibniz applied to reality now.

this transformation, that is to say using fictions as a test, this transformation responsible is to adopt a model point of view on fictions, and more precisely, on narratives on novels as it happens, which have in common with the cosmological hypothesis, that is to say the Cartesian fable, this fact that they progressively show their whole structure to have it in common with cosmological hypothesis.

I guess it's not that difficult to understand the way, Leibniz is using the argument of novels, you see first Descartes is talking about matter of material forms, Leibniz understands this postulate by applying it to all the things, all the things not only material forms, and then if we are talking about all the things, then we may also use the example of novels, novel heroes for instance, so in fact in order to put this posture late to the test, you may use the case of novel heroes instead of material forms.

so we will have to believe as Cartesian, if we agreed with Descartes, we would have to believe that not only material forms, but novel heroes most successively exists in the world, that is the way Leibniz puts this postulate to test, this focusing, so I’m only I only try to summarize what we have seen on Monday, this profusion of the accusing of the series of fiction on modalities which still predominates today.

nowadays this for accusing is carried out by Leibniz, and for this reason why it is the main reference in the second part of my lectures, we had to read Descartes in the first part, and now we have to deal with Leibniz, of course let me tell you something, I did not choose them only as examples.

my goal is to propose you an introduction to modern western philosophy, that is to say to great feelers offer as and among then Descartes and Leibniz play and very important law, of course, the political use of the argument of novels only to formulate the faces, that is a simple physics, but it faces that is simple only apparently only apparently.

Remember that novels are possible it is not that hard to understand, novels are possible because if they are not possible, you can't use them as an argument against this postulate, against this is our young philosophies, as soon as we try to understand what this possibility means.

what does it mean to believe to think that novels are possible ?

as soon as we try to understand this, things become far more complicated, far more complicated, first of all remember possibility, the possibility of novels doesn't mean realism not at all, that is to say the common possibility with our world, the common possibility with our world, remembers is very important concept.

well the possibility of novels doesn't mean some kind of composable with our world, for if the heroes of novels, if this heroes were composable with our reality, then there would exist at some time to the possibility of novels doesn't mean can possibility, but there is something far more difficult.

when we when I expounded the limit and theory of contingency, I spent a lot of time on it, so when I expounded this theory of contingency, we already considered the case of certain notions expressing historical characters, he rose to some extent at least characters, that are not compatible with our world for instance.

remember the notion of the vague Adam, the notion of the vague Adam, the Adam non sinner to some extent, the Adam non sinner, he looks like a novel character, he couldn't be a novel character, we already considered, that case in Leibniz and theory of contingency such notions, remember such notions are not determined enough.

there are not determined by an in finite number of predicates, expressing the insertion of these isolating individual in a world, if I consider this Adam, none sin as an individual character, I have to admit his notion is not determined enough, this notion does not possess this in finite number of pretty gates expressing, the fact that these individuals belongs to a world, you remember great, it seems at first and this is the last point are expounded on Monday.

it seems at first, that the possibility of novels is very similar to the model statues of such vague notions, it seems similar as the Adam none senior, the novel hero is insufficiently determined, a novel hero doesn't possess an infinite number of predicate, so they seem to be very similar, but the novel hero and that is very important, because this is one of the conditions of the birth of aesthetics during the eighteenth century.

you will see that the novel hero he is determined all the same, he is determined all the same, by the rudimentary system of facts, he belongs to a novel hero is not and isolate individual, his determined by the system of facts, in which a novel consists. he maintains relationships with other characters or with historical events

furthermore and all and it seems very important, because remember we are considering narratives, furthermore the story or the course of a novel, it has a beginning and it has an end, the story is a course of a novel has a global structure in common, with the order that defines time as a certain kind of compulsive, that is very important, it has something in common with the order that according to Leibniz defines time as a certain kind of compatibility , remember possibility maybe only relative, and this is the definition of time, some possibilities cannot come to cure at the same time, and in that sense they are Leibniz says inconsistent, inconsistent which means those possibilities can't a cure at the same time.

but nevertheless they are connected, they are connected, so it's some kind of relative possibility and isn't it obvious, that this strange definition of time very formal very abstract in fact, this very strange definition of time, which concerns the created world, this definition of time could easily be applied to the course of a story, , so novels well the possibility of novels has something in common with the possibility of a world, in fact two things in common, novel heroes are connected, connected each others, and they are connected to values events, and besides if it is well constructed, the story of a novel a baize to a structure very similar to the structure of time in the world.

in short, these fictions I mean narratives, especially novels, that is the reason why Leibniz choose novels for his argument, these fictions are reflecting the organization of a world, even if it is not the created one , and we came to this point last time, I told you that on the space two perspectives open it, first, and we're talking about this during the first part of this lecture, the theory of literature, literary fictions, that is to say the kind of politics, that they render possible, you have to know that be for the eighteenth century.

Aesthetics did not exist in philosophy in western philosophy at least, it did not exist as a separate field of course, many fields offers, since the ancient for instance routine, we have a specialist on plotting here many fields, we're dealing with art, with the arts of course the aesthetics theory of beauty ,did not exist as a separate field before the eighteenth century, and the philosophers who invented aesthetics were always referring to Leibniz, especially concerning literature.

the second perspective perhaps, I will come to this today, but I will finish next week, the second perspective concerns the lessons we must draw, regarding the use of fictions in metaphysics, so the first point leads us to Leibniz, I told you last time, where are the second requires us to come back to this very important book, Leibniz published in the twenty ten, so forgive me I have been a bit long about those points, but I am fully aware that perhaps for some of you, there were a bit difficult.

if you allow me and advice, the most important in order to learn something here would be to read the text, is sending to you, each after each lecture, please do reduce takes it will be enough, all the texts I quote are in the PowerPoint presentation, so we do stacks please, first perspective about several of literature, the reference to all the possible worlds, owns it is positively assumed remember when Leibniz uses the argument of novels, when he tries to define the possibility of novels, he refutes Descartes.

so his ideas on novels are formulated in a political context, remember this, it will be important, that concerning all the philosophic as when these reference to other possible worlds is positively assumed it forms a semantic approach to the aesthetic problem of fiction, a thematic approach, I don't know, if you are fully aware about this term a semantic approach, it's not that difficult to understand.

what do I mean, what do I mean when I felt that we are approaching a semantic inquiry semantics, please remember these definitions semantics is the study of meaning, semantics is a study of meaning, more precisely, it's four cruises on the relation between signifiers the relation signifiers, for instance worlds, and so on, science symbols, the relations introduces on the relation between signifiers.

and what this done for, what they are standing for, that is to say there a notation in philosophical terms, the postulation of possible worlds is an attempt to solve the problem of reference, you know the words what are fictions and especially narratives referring to, that is a very important question in aesthetics, of course what are you believing when you read a novel, what are you believing in when you read a novel, it's not that easy to understand this problem to solve this problem, what are you believing in ?

Because to some extent, of course you take it serious but you're not you don't believe that the novel, only refers to the real world.

it will have no sense, so to some extent, you believe you are believing in the events in this novel, but on the other hand, of course you do not take them as real, you do not consider them as real, this is a problem of reference, and of course the postulation of possible worlds gives us a very efficient answer.

novels narratives are referring to possible worlds, so why is it so important, because it means that novels do denote ate something that do denoted something, therefore, there is some kind of belief in you, when you are reading a novel, so if novels you don't didn't denote ate anything, you could not you could not feel any beliefs, when you're reading it reading thing, well this point of view is invented in the eighteenth century.