Abstract

The article reflects on some possible similarities and differences between Leibniz and Chomsky in relation to the mind/body relation, language, the method of work, meaning, thinking and the concept of innate. It emphasizes the notions of “innate” and “virtual” and raises the hypothesis that Leibniz’s conception of “virtual” can be applied to the theory of Chomsky by considering three situations that are related to the degree of attention and ordering necessary for the actualization of the innate principles. Key words: Chomsky, innate, Leibniz, language, virtual.