Abstract: Most scholars emphasize the discontinuity in Kant’s early accounts of matter, reinforcing the longstanding view that the young Kant explored various positions without committing to a specific one. More specifically, commentators tend to read the shift from atomism to monadism or, conversely, from monadism to atomism, as a turning point in Kant’s pre-critical account of matter. I challenge these readings by arguing that the young Kant did not conceive of atomism and monadism as mutually exclusive alternatives. Rather, he developed an account of matter that combined monadism in metaphysics and a version of atomism known as corpuscularism in physics. I further show that, prior to Kant, Du Châtelet had already articulated such a hybrid account of matter by drawing on Wolffian ideas. By comparing Du Châtelet’s Institutions de physique with Kant’s early texts on natural philosophy, I suggest that Du Châtelet’s views may have influenced Kant’s early account of matter more significantly than has generally been acknowledged in the literature.

Pierpaolo Betti obtained his PhD from KU Leuven in 2025. His doctoral research focused on the evolution of the concept of monad in Kant’s philosophy in light of the early reception of Leibniz’s monadology. As of November, he will be a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists at Paderborn University, where he will contribute to the historical-critical edition of Du Châtelet’s Institutions de physique. His publications include “Kant’s Mature Account of Monads as Objects in the Idea” (The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 2024) and “The Influence of Leibniz’s New Essays on Kant’s Account of Impenetrability in the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science” (book chapter in Leibniz in der klassischendeutschen Philosophie, edited by Gregor Schäfer. Springer/Metzler, forthcoming).

The Talk is part of the regular research colloquium held at the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists. The research colloquium is organised by the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists.

Everybody is welcome to attend!

The talk will start at 4 pm.

Room: TP8.1.46

Building: Technologiepark 8

Adress: Technologiepark 8, 33098 Paderborn