Perfection as Harmony: Leibniz’s 1715 Doctrine and Wolff’s Teleological Reformulation

In his German Metaphysics, Christian Wolff defines perfection as “the agreement of the manifold”, which is clearly reminiscent of Leibniz’s concept of harmony as unity in multiplicity. Indeed, in his letter to Wolff of 18 May 1715 Leibniz characterizes perfection as “the harmony of things” and applies to it the same phrase with which he usually clarifies his concept of harmony: perfection is “agreement or identity in variety”. Thus, it was Leibniz himself who suggested or possibly authorized the clear identification of perfection with harmony. On the other hand, it was Wolff who urged Leibniz to refine and clarify his view on this topic. The reasons behind Wolff’s interventions have generally been neglected by scholars, but as the present reconstruction aims to show, they prove to be perfectly relevant to a fuller understanding of both the historical background and theoretical implications of the perfection-as-harmony doctrine. Leibniz’s remarks led Wolff to realize that perfection is intimately tied to a finalistic framework and could thus serve as a fundamental concept of both ethics and teleology. This discussion reveals the essentially teleological character of Leibniz’s concepts of perfection and possibly harmony.