Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1714)

A comparative analysis with the CoD

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz at the blackboard in his study, writing equations and monad diagrams for his audience. With his right hand he presents a rational system of pre-established harmony; with his left hand, clutched behind his back, he conceals the Bible on which it truly rests—a visual metaphor for an ontology founded on faith, not reason. Courtesy of Nano Banana.

I. Abstract

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s core ontological claim is that reality is fundamentally composed of simple, immaterial, and mind-like substances called 'monads,' which are in 'pre-established harmony'.^[1] As mentioned in Methodology, this comparative assessment employs the Ontological Model Assessment Framework (OMAF) to systematically juxtapose this model with the Conference of Difference (CoD). The OMAF reveals a fundamental divergence on the criterion of the relationship-between-multiplicity-and-unity, highlighting the CoD's distinctive capacity to ground dynamic, emergent relationality without recourse to a prior, transcendent harmony. Where Leibniz’s system requires a divine architect (God) to synchronize its windowless monads, the CoD posits that unity is immanently and continuously generated through the constitutive 'conferencing' of differences themselves. This comparison thereby contributes to the overall thesis by demonstrating how the CoD resolves the problem of relational cohesion without invoking a pre-established, divine order, offering a framework for unity that is inherent to the process of existence.

II. Overview of Leibniz's Monadology

Developing his metaphysics in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz proposed a radical solution to the problem of the one and the many. His model, the Monadology, posits that the ultimate constituents of reality are monads: simple, unextended, percipient substances that are the true 'atoms of nature'. Each monad is a self-contained universe, 'windowless', with no genuine causal interaction with any other. Its entire existence and perceptual state are internally pre-programmed by God.

In Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: a CRUP-OMAF case study, its ontology is assessed as follows:

• On primacy-of-existence: Leibniz claims monads are primary which he asserts are created from nothing (creatio ex nihilo) by God.
• On manner-of-existence: Leibniz distinguishes two manners of existence: substantial existence which belongs to monads alone: windowless, internally unfolding through appetition and phenomenal existence which belongs to all composite bodies—organic and inorganic, from plants to planets.
• On the relationship-between-multiplicity-and-unity: The relationship between the multiplicity of monads and the unity of the world is strictly external and transcendental. A benevolent God created and perfectly synchronized all monads such that their internal states correspond, like infinitely many clocks keeping perfect time without interacting. Unity is not emergent from the monads themselves but is imposed upon them from without by God. Without God, the universe would be a chaos of disconnected perceptions.^[2]

III. Overview of the CoD

The Conference of Difference (CoD) model claims that, as a 'condition of being', existence is, by extension, a 'process of declaring together of action to be'. This condition: 'process of declaring together' can itself be described as a conference of difference: a 'condition of bearing together' transforming the 'condition of bearing apart'. Logically, every conference is of difference as every difference is born of conference. Critically, this is not a causal circle but a constitutive one: neither term precedes the other; each is intelligible only through the other.^[3] Therefore, the conference of difference is irreducible in and of itself and thus the process primitive of existence.

In the Conference of Difference: a CRUP-OMAF case study, its ontology is assessed as follows:

• On primacy-of-existence: The CoD reveals primacy, not in substance of entities but, in the relational process itself: the conference of difference—relation precedes relata. Entities are discerned as stabilized patterns within this ongoing process. As declared in Koan 10.1, 'all existence is a conference of difference'. Relation is not something that happens between discerned entities but rather the process primitive that transforms existence itself.
• On manner-of-existence: The manner-of-existence is fundamentally conferential and transformative. Thus, being: 'action to be' is a continuous, dynamic process of 'bearing together' and 'bearing apart' – a constant negotiation that defines the 'condition of being' that is existence. 'All existence transforms via binding, not freedom' (Koan 30.7).
• On the relationship-between-multiplicity-and-unity: Unity is an immanent and continuous achievement of the conference of difference itself. Koan 80.1 frames this as a universal reciprocity that moves toward equilibrium—a self-organizing principle inherent to existence itself.

IV. Comparison

Criterion 1: Primacy-of-Existence

• Statement: The OMAF assessment identifies a foundational divergence on what constitutes the primacy of existence.
• Leibniz's Position: For Leibniz, primacy lies with the individual substance—the monad. Each monad is a metaphysically independent, self-sufficient entity whose being is prior to any relations it appears to have. Relations are not real but are well-founded phenomena arising from the divine pre-establishment of internal states.^[4]
• CoD's Position: The CoD radically inverts this, granting primacy not to individual entities but to the relational process itself—the conference of difference. An 'entity' is a secondary, stabilized pattern within this ongoing process. As stated in Koan 10.1, 'all existence is a conference of difference,' meaning that relation is not something that happens between primaries but is the very ground of their being.
• Interpretive Analysis: This difference is not merely technical but foundational. Leibniz claims the windowless monad is primary, yet his system cannot function without God as the true primary—the creator, sustainer, and harmonizer of all monads. The claim of monadic primacy is therefore inconsistent with the system's own foundations. The CoD's insistence on the conference of difference as primary, by contrast, requires no hidden architect; it allows for genuine interaction and emergent novelty without recourse to a divine pre‑program. Leibniz must relegate all dynamic relation to a static divine score, rendering the cosmos a playback rather than a live performance.

Criterion 2: Manner-of-Existence

• Statement: The models offer contrasting visions of how existence manifests and unfolds.
• Leibniz's Position: Leibniz distinguishes two manners of existence. Substantial existence belongs to monads alone: internal unfolding through appetition, each monad a spiritual automaton with its entire timeline pre-contained. Phenomenal existence belongs to all composite bodies (chairs, plants, animals): these are well-founded phenomena, harmonious patterns of perception across monads with no substantial existence of their own.^[5]
• CoD's Position: For the CoD, the manner-of-existence is fundamentally conferential and transformative. 'All existence transforms via binding, not freedom' (Koan 30.7). To be is to be in a continuous, dynamic process of 'bearing together' and 'bearing apart,' a constant negotiation that defines the 'condition of being' that is existence.
• Interpretive Analysis: Leibniz’s model presents a universe of beings whose history is a fait accompli, playing out in splendid isolation. The CoD, by contrast, presents a universe in constant, immanent creation, where the future is not pre-recorded but is actively forged in the conference of difference perceived as 'now'. The CoD’s reality is a live performance, not a recording.

Criterion 3: Relationship-Between-Multiplicity-and-Unity

• Statement: This criterion reveals the most significant philosophical schism between the two models: the source of cosmic order.
• Leibniz's Position: The relationship between the multiplicity of monads and the unity of the world is strictly external and transcendental. The harmony is pre-established by God. The unity is not emergent from the monads themselves but is imposed upon them from without by a divine architect. Without God, the universe would be a chaos of disconnected perceptions.
• CoD's Position: For the CoD, unity is an immanent and continuous achievement of the process primitive of existence: the conference of difference. Unity is not pre-established but is constantly being conditioned: 'declared together' through the dynamic bearing together of differences. Koan 80.1 frames this as a universal reciprocity that moves toward equilibrium, a self-organizing principle inherent to existence.
• Interpretive Analysis: The confrontation with Leibniz throws the CoD's commitment to immanent relationality into sharpest relief. Leibniz requires a deus ex machina to solve the problem of relation, grounding coherence in a perfect, external singularity. The CoD demonstrates that an ontology can be grounded and coherent without being monistic and static, locating the principle of unity within the very process of the conference of difference itself.

V. Implications

The central philosophical lesson from comparing Leibniz and the CoD is that a coherent and unified cosmos does not necessitate a transcendent, pre-programming God. Leibniz’s system represents the pinnacle of substance ontology, where relationality is the insoluble problem requiring a divine solution. The CoD, by making relation itself the primitive, dissolves this problem at its root. This comparison strengthens the case for the CoD by demonstrating its capacity to solve a core problem of classical metaphysics—the problem of communion between distinct substances—without recourse to external agency. It opens a new line of inquiry into understanding cosmic order, biological organization, and social coherence as emergent, self-organizing phenomena grounded in the immanent logic of the conference of difference. Where Leibniz gave faith to a pre-set harmony by God, the CoD reveals a continuous, relational negotiation.

The Gospel of Being

by John Mackay

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