Dynamism (metaphysics)

Dynamism is a metaphysical concept conceived by Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716) and developed into a full system of cosmology. Dynamism in metaphysical cosmology explains the material world in terms of active, pointlike forces, with no extension but with action at a distance. Dynamism describes that which exists as simple elements, or for Leibniz, monads, and groups of elements which have only the essence of forces. It was developed as a reaction against the passive view of matter in philosophical mechanism. Interaction between elements takes place without contact, through modes or even harmonics of motion, yielding all phenomena in the Universe.

Various treatments of Dynamism can be found in the works of Baruch Spinoza and Henri Bergson, and also, long before them, Parmenides, the Atomists, and Plotinus. In more contemporary works, elements of Dynamism also developed into process philosophy, via Alfred North Whitehead and others, as well as systems theory via Ludwig von Bertalanffy and William Ross Ashby. Immanuel Kant was another philosopher who helped the development of the theory of dynamism. More recently Colin Stott argues that many of the problems of traditional western philosophy arise from an unsustainably passive view of both matter and consciousness. His A New Dynamism for Philosophy seeks to reveal the potential of a re-invigorated dynamism to diagnose, address and propose accessible solutions to many of the subject's oldest questions.

Use in other contexts

Dynamism was also taken up by Umberto Boccioni and other artists and creative thinkers early in the 20th century. Dynamist artists used the concept as part of a way of representing the complexity of processes, rather than be limited by the discrete and static moments within change, which also illustrated the limits of human perception.