Pierwotna siła bierna i prawo serii: materia pierwsza w metafizyce Leibniza

Abstract

This article reconsiders the metaphysical status of materia prima in Leibniz’s philosophy by analyzing its identification with vis passiva primitiva – the primitive passive force. Contrary to prevalent negative interpretations that reduce materia prima to mere privation or metaphysical deficiency, the paper argues that Leibniz attributes to it a real, though non-self-sufficient, function within the inter nal structure of substance. Drawing on key texts such as Specimen Dynamicum, De ipsa natura, and the correspondence with De Volder, the analysis shows that materia prima serves not only as a source of resistance, inertia, and impenetrability, but also as a principle of differentiation within the dynamics of substance. The paper further demonstrates that materia prima is implicitly connected to the law of series (lex se riei), and thus plays a crucial role in shaping the rhythm, order, and internal articula tion of perceptual development. As a result, vis passiva primitiva appears not as a pas sive remainder, but as a structural condition for the realization of monadic activity in the phenomenal world.