Discourse on Metaphysics and The Monadology (Philosophical Classics) - Softcover

G. W. Leibniz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486443108 ISBN 13: 9780486443102

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2005

Synopsis

One of the 17th century's most important thinkers, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz exercised enormous influence on the philosophy of Herder, Feuerbach, and Hegel as well as on the writings of Schiller and Goethe. Two of Leibniz's most studied and often quoted works appear in this volume: Discourse on Metaphysics and The Monadology.
Published in 1686, the Discourse on Metaphysics consists of Leibniz's expansion of a letter to his theologian friend Antoine Arnauld, in which he explains that through our perceptions we express the rest of the universe from our own unique perspectives. The whole world is thus contained in each individual substance as each represents the same universe and "the universe is in a way multiplied as many times as there are substances, and similarly the glory of God is redoubled by as many completely different representations of His work." It is here that Leibniz makes his famous assertion that God, with perfect knowledge and goodness, freely chose to create this, the best of all possible worlds.
The Monadology, written in 1714, offers a concise synopsis of Leibniz's philosophy. It establishes the laws of final causes, which underlie God's free choice to create the best possible world — a world that serves as dynamic and perfectly ordered evidence of the wisdom, power, and benevolence of its creator.

About this title

About the Author

GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ was born in Leipzig, Germany, on July 1, 1646. Showing signs of a prodigious intellect even at an early age, Leibniz entered the University of Leipzig at fifteen to study law, mathematics, and phi­losophy. Since Leipzig refused to grant him a doctoral degree because of his youth, Leibniz transferred to the University at Altdorf, near Nuremberg, where he received his doctorate in 1666, before his twenty-first birthday.

Shortly thereafter, Leibniz entered the civil service, first with the Elector of Mainz and later with the ducal family of Braunschweig-Lueneburg. Leibniz's diplomatic missions took him to Paris, London, Amsterdam, and finally, Hanover, where he made his home. Opportunities for travel brought Leibniz into contact with the leading luminaries of the day, including the philosophers Nicolas de Malebranche and Baruch de Spinoza, and the mathematician Christiaan Huygens. A true polymath, Leibniz wrote ex­tensively on legal, cultural, and political affairs; compiled an official history of the Braunschweig family; and made seminal contributions to mathematics, theology, and phi­losophy. In his two great philosophical works, the Discourse on Metaphysics and the Monadology, Leibniz outlined his metaphysical system, including his conception of physical substance, the motion and resistance of bodies, and the role of the divine within the dynamic universe.

For his diplomatic and scholarly achievements, Leibniz was honored by being made a member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, president of the Berlin Academy, privy councillor to royalty, and a baronet of the empire. Yet Leibniz's last years were dogged by illness and increasing neglect by those who regarded him as heterodox in religion. He died in Hanover on November 14, 1716.

Leibniz's other works include a code of international law; Systema theologicum (1687); and Essais de theodicee (1710), his most important work in theology.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0486443108
• ISBN 13: 9780486443102
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 96
• Editor: Albert R. Chandler