Monad (philosophy)

For other senses of "monad", see Monad.
The circled dot was used by the Pythagoreans and later Greeks to represent the first metaphysical being, the Monad or the Absolute.
Part of a series on
Theism
Types of faith
Specific conceptions
In particular religions
Abrahamic
Indo-Iranian
Chinese
Attributes
  • Experiences
  • Practices
Related topics

The term monad (from Ancient Greek μονάς (monas) 'unity' and μόνος (monos) 'alone')[1] is used in some cosmic philosophy and cosmogony to refer to a most basic or original substance. As originally conceived by the Pythagoreans, the Monad is the Supreme Being, divinity or the totality of all things. According to some philosophers of the early modern period, most notably Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, there are infinite monads, which are the basic and immaterial elementary particles, or simplest units, that make up the universe.[2]

  1. ^ "Oxford English Dictionary". www.oed.com. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  2. ^ Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von (2005). Discourse on metaphysics, and the monadology. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0486443102.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)