préétablis

Prétablist is a term of French origin that translates to "pre-established" or "predetermined." It is most commonly used in philosophy, particularly in the context of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's metaphysical system. Leibniz's concept of the "pre-established harmony" posits that God, in creating the universe, has arranged all monads (simple, indivisible substances) in such a way that their internal changes occur in perfect synchrony without any direct causal interaction between them. Each monad unfolds according to its own internal programming, and this unfolding is so precisely coordinated with all other monads that it appears as if they are influencing each other.

This doctrine offers a solution to the problem of mind-body interaction, suggesting that the mind and body, being distinct monads, do not causally affect one another but rather operate in parallel, their states being pre-established by God from the beginning of time. The term préétabli therefore signifies this inherent, divinely ordained order and coordination that governs the universe. Beyond Leibniz's philosophy, the concept of préétabli can be applied more broadly to any system or arrangement that is set up in advance or predetermined, implying a lack of ongoing external influence or intervention in its functioning.