Descartes, Leibniz, and the Body of

ChristConrad Collins

Transubstantiation

The Council of Trent: Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation. (Catechism 1376)

Descartes

MetaphysicsTwo substances: Mind and Body

“each substance has one principle property which constitutes its nature and essence, and to which all its other properties are referred.”

The essence of bodies is extension

It is understood through shape and movement

Descartes

1st proposal: “through God’s miraculous activity, the substance of the bread is changed into the substance of Christ’s body in such a way that Christ’s body is contained within the same total surface as the bread formerly occupied.”

Objection: “If the essence of matter is extension…how can Christ’s body be really present in the sacrament without its own proper extension?”

Since a body is distinguished by shape and movement

Descartes

Descartes’ Solution: the Church never equated species with accidents

Descartes had a better understanding of the meaning of species

Therefore the problem is not a problem

Problem: this doesn’t reconcile his philosophy with the Catholic Church

Leibniz

MetaphysicsMonads are fundamentally real substances

Unextended

Mental substance

Cannot be constructed or destroyed naturally

Bodies are “well-founded phenomena”They appear a certain way despite not being real

They express the way in which monads are related to each other

Leibniz

1st Proposal: Copresence-“Christ’s body is perceived at the same time that the bread is received”

Objection: This is not transubstantiationThis suggests that the substance of the bread is still present within the Eucharist

Leibniz

Solution: the monads of the body of Christ replace the monads of bread but retain appearance of bread established by the monads of bread.

Problem: reduces accidents to illusions of perception,

Accidents are not dependent on the union between monads

This suggests that God is deceiving us

Conclusion

Neither philosopher provides a complete solution, but…

Descartes rejected the Catholic Church’s teaching of transubstantiation and replaced it with his own, while…

Leibniz proposes a somewhat confusing solution that allows for the possibility of transubstantiation without altering the core of his philosophy.

Therefore, Leibniz’s philosophy is more compatible with the traditional view of transubstantiation and the Eucharist.