Points of View

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the concept of point of view. I begin with a discussion of Leibniz, the philosopher who can be credited with introducing the concept into philosophical tradition in an explicit way. This leads me to examine the concept in its logical relations to the notions of position, role and individuality. The burden of the argument presented here is that, contrary to initial expectations arising out of considering the latter notions, the concept of point of view, far from being an element of irrationality inherent in discourse, is one of the means by the use of which we strive to make our discourse more rational. Forays into the history of philosophy and into the strange by-ways of ordinary use are undertaken in this essay only for the sake of supporting this conclusion.