---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..This is why the ultimate reason of…"
description: "\"..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg"
---

#  ..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a…

![“..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in their source; and this is what we call God.” quote by Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg)

> “..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in their source; and this is what we call God.”

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Leibniz argues that the ultimate cause of all things is a necessary substance, which he calls God.

**In simple terms:** God is the fundamental source of all change.

Key Takeaway

Consider the underlying unity behind apparent diversity.

Themes

metaphysics theology causality

Mood

contemplative inquisitive

Type

philosophical theological

When to use this quote

- science
- religion
- personal reflection
- ethical decision‑making

Key Concepts

monadology necessary substance

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “necessary substance” mean to you?
- How does this view affect your sense of purpose?

A Different Perspective

Complex metaphysics may be abstract for everyday use.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Differentiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differentiation/) [Exists Eminently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-eminently-3990035/) [Necessary Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-substance-3589471/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Source God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source-god-382835/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Ultimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate/) [Ultimate Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate-reason-656660/)

## Related quotes

> [The ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-ultimate-reason-of-things-must-lie-in-a-necessary-substance-in/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a tool to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-hofmann/i-think-that-in-human-evolution-it-has-never-been-as-necessary-to/)

[Albert Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-hofmann/)

> [Is the god the source, or is the god a human manner of conceiving of the force and energy that supports the world? In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/is-the-god-the-source-or-is-the-god-a-human-manner-of-conceiving-of/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [It is God who is the ultimate reason things, and the Knowledge of God is no less the beginning of science than his essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/it-is-god-who-is-the-ultimate-reason-things-and-the-knowledge-of-god/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [“Our reason to pray for such spiritual benefits is a fairly obvious one—one that we have affirmed again and again in this book: “so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/our-reason-to-pray-for-such-spiritual-benefits-is-a-fairly-obvious/)

[John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/)

> [The ultimate reason for meditating is to transform ourselves in order to be better able to transform the world or, to put it another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/the-ultimate-reason-for-meditating-is-to-transform-ourselves-in-order-2/)

[Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/)

> [“. If that which was figured out long ago was the ultimate, then there would be no reason for your existence today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/if-that-which-was-figured-out-long-ago-was-the-ultimate-then-there/)

[Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/)

> [The Incarnation is the ultimate reason why the service of God cannot be divorced from the service of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-incarnation-is-the-ultimate-reason-why-the-service-of-god-cannot/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [“Purpose is the ultimate reason for your existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-mashego/purpose-is-the-ultimate-reason-for-your-existence/)

[D.S. Mashego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-mashego/)

> [To consider the matter aright, reason is nothing but a wonderful and unintelligible instinct in our souls, which carries us along a certain train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/to-consider-the-matter-aright-reason-is-nothing-but-a-wonderful-and/)

[David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/)

> [“But the ultimate reason for our hope is not to be found at all in what we want, wish for and wait for; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/but-the-ultimate-reason-for-our-hope-is-not-to-be-found-at-all-in/)

[Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [The ultimate reason for meditating is to transform ourselves in order to be better able to transform the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/the-ultimate-reason-for-meditating-is-to-transform-ourselves-in-order/)

[Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/)

> [The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-ultimate-reason-for-setting-goals-is-to-entice-you-to-become-the/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [“We give God a name. We then equate God with the name we have given him, and in doing so we make ourselves, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-finley/we-give-god-a-name-we-then-equate-god-with-the-name-we-have-given-him/)

[James Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-finley/)

> [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/)

[Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/)

## More by Gottfried Leibniz

> [There are two famous labyrinths where our reason very often goes astray. One concerns the great question of the free and the necessary, above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-are-two-famous-labyrinths-where-our-reason-very-often-goes/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [Either there are no corporeal substances, and bodies are merely phenomena which are true or consistent with each other, such as a rainbow or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/either-there-are-no-corporeal-substances-and-bodies-are-merely/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [The present is saturated with the past and pregnant with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-present-is-saturated-with-the-past-and-pregnant-with-the-future/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [Make me the the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/make-me-the-the-master-of-education-and-i-will-undertake-to-change/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [All the different classes of beings which taken together make up the universe are, in the ideas of God who knows distinctly their essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/all-the-different-classes-of-beings-which-taken-together-make-up-the/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [I hold that the mark of a genuine idea is that its possibility can be proved, either a priori by conceiving its cause or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/i-hold-that-the-mark-of-a-genuine-idea-is-that-its-possibility-can-be/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [The monad, of which we shall speak here, is nothing but a simple substance which enters into compounds; simple, that is to say, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-monad-of-which-we-shall-speak-here-is-nothing-but-a-simple/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [There is no way in which a simple substance could begin in the course of nature, since it cannot be formed by means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-no-way-in-which-a-simple-substance-could-begin-in-the-course/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [In symbols one observes an advantage in discovery which is greatest when they express the exact nature of a thing briefly and, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/in-symbols-one-observes-an-advantage-in-discovery-which-is-greatest/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [There is nothing without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-nothing-without-reason/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [God, possessing supreme and infinite wisdom, acts in the most perfect manner, not only metaphysically, but also morally speaking, and ... with respect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/god-possessing-supreme-and-infinite-wisdom-acts-in-the-most-perfect/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [It can have its effect only through the intervention of God, inasmuch as in the ideas of God a monad rightly demands that God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/it-can-have-its-effect-only-through-the-intervention-of-god-inasmuch/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [I do not conceive of any reality at all as without genuine unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/i-do-not-conceive-of-any-reality-at-all-as-without-genuine-unity/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-pleasure-we-obtain-from-music-comes-from-counting-but-counting/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

> [If we were magically shrunk and put into someone's brain while she was thinking, we would see all the pumps, pistons, gears and levers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/if-we-were-magically-shrunk-and-put-into-someone-s-brain-while-she/)

[Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

[Explore all 127 Gottfried Leibniz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/)

## More Differentiation quotes

> [Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/ecological-differentiation-is-the-necessary-condition-for-coexistence/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [In the '30s, every day was an event. And, as much as I love that idea, I think nowadays it's nice to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/in-the-30s-every-day-was-an-event-and-as-much-as-i-love-that-idea-i/)

[Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/)

> [The worst of the action films are the ones where everything is one shout from beginning to finish. And there's no differentiation between beats,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/the-worst-of-the-action-films-are-the-ones-where-everything-is-one/)

[Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/)

> [The proof given by Wright, that non-adaptive differentiation will occur in small populations owing to "drift," or the chance fixation of some new mutation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/the-proof-given-by-wright-that-non-adaptive-differentiation-will/)

[Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/)

> [Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/progress-is-only-possible-by-passing-from-a-state-of-undifferentiated/)

[Ludwig von Bertalanffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/)

> [“My idiosyncrasies set me apart from the conformity of the human race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epiphana-lewis/my-idiosyncrasies-set-me-apart-from-the-conformity-of-the-human-race/)

[Epiphana Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epiphana-lewis/)

> [“Together, we form a necessary paradox; not a senseless contradiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/together-we-form-a-necessary-paradox-not-a-senseless-contradiction/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [There have only been about a half dozen genuinely important events in the four-billion-year saga of life on Earth: single-celled life, multicelled life, differentiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/there-have-only-been-about-a-half-dozen-genuinely-important-events-in/)

[Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/)

> [Differentiation of treatment is not motivated by the difference of value of the two races, but of the fundamental difference of their respective natures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/differentiation-of-treatment-is-not-motivated-by-the-difference-of/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [“O my brave Almighty Human, with the ever-effulgent flow of courage, conscience and compassion, turn yourself into a vivacious humanizer, and start walking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/o-my-brave-almighty-human-with-the-ever-effulgent-flow-of-courage/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [At HSN, the experience we create are a significant point of differentiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-grossman/at-hsn-the-experience-we-create-are-a-significant-point-of/)

[Mindy Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-grossman/)

> [We identify in our experience a differentiation between what we do and what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-identify-in-our-experience-a-differentiation-between-what-we-do/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [I contend that the continued racial classification of Homo sapiens represents an outmoded approach to the general problem of differentiation within a species. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-contend-that-the-continued-racial-classification-of-homo-sapiens/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [We are tagged as comedians, villains, etc. but those are just character traits of a role and there is no need for differentiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salim-kumar/we-are-tagged-as-comedians-villains-etc-but-those-are-just-character/)

[Salim Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salim-kumar/)

> [Common integration is only the memory of differentiation...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-de-morgan/common-integration-is-only-the-memory-of-differentiation/)

[Augustus De Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-de-morgan/)

[Browse all 105 Differentiation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differentiation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation of the changes only exists eminently as in their source; and this is what we call God.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gottfried Leibniz"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-things-must-lie-in-a-necessary/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Differentiation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-things-must-lie-in-a-necessary/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/gottfried-leibniz-3585_differentiation_this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-thing_2886272.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“..This is why the ultimate reason of things must lie in a necessary substance, in which the differentiation…” — Gottfried Leibniz",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Gottfried Leibniz",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "..This is why the ultimate reason...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-things-must-lie-in-a-necessary/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/this-is-why-the-ultimate-reason-of-things-must-lie-in-a-necessary/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
