Principle of Sufficient Reason
Updated 2026-09-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The principle of sufficient reason holds that everything must have its reason, cause, or ground. This naive demand for thoroughgoing intelligibility has produced some of the boldest and most challenging theses in the history of philosophy, while remaining in constant dispute. It lies behind Leibniz's argument for a necessary being and topics such as grounding and the identity of indiscernibles, and it forces a distinction between causal explanation and metaphysical grounding.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Grounding inquiry: for every claim, ask what its warrant is, and reject unsupported assertions. - Regress detection: spot infinite regress in an argument and judge whether a stopping point is needed. - Explanation sorting: separate causal from grounding explanations, to prevent the two being smuggled into each other.
Anchor fast decisions
The principle derives its force from its form: for any fact or existent, there is an explanation of why it is thus rather than otherwise. If reason is read causally, it drives the rejection of infinite regress and the positing of a first cause or self-caused substance; if read as ground or grounding, it links to the intelligibility of the whole world and to the identity of indiscernibles.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- plato.stanford.eduhttps://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sufficient-reason/verified
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