Plenitude, Causality, and Motion: The Hobbesian Roots of Leibniz’s Universal Connection of All Things

This paper explores the Leibnizian doctrine of universal connection and its roots in the philosophy of Hobbes − an area surprisingly overlooked in scholarly literature. It is argued that, contrary to interpretations emphasizing Neoplatonic or Stoic influences, Leibniz’s conception is grounded in a physical dimension: the idea of the universe as a plenum in which every movement propagates infinitely. This view aligns with Hobbes’s causal determinism, particularly his theory of the “full cause,” according to which every effect results from an infinity of efficient concurring causes. The paper examines how Leibniz adopts and critically reworks Hobbesian ideas in his Paris writings, including the notion of “universal sympathy” traced back to imperceptible motions, while distinguishing himself from Hobbes by affirming the necessity of immaterial principles to explain substance and perception. In the concluding remarks, further lines of inquiry are suggested in order to better understand Leibniz’s critical reappropriation of some Hobbesian ideas in his philosophy of nature.