Leibniz (The Routledge Philosophers)

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) was hailed by BertrandRussell as ‘one of the supreme intellects of all time’. A towering figurein seventeenth-century philosophy, he was the author of a complexsystem of thought that has been championed and satirized inequal measure, most famously in Voltaire’s Candide.In this outstanding introduction to his philosophy, Nicholas Jolley examinesand assesses the whole of Leibniz’s philosophy. Beginning withan account of Leibniz’s life and work, he carefully explains the core elementsof Leibniz’s metaphysics: his theories of substance, identity andindividuation; his doctrine of monads; and his important debate overthe nature of space and time with Newton’s champion, Samuel Clarke.He then introduces Leibniz’s theories of mind, knowledge, and innateideas, showing how Leibniz anticipated the distinction betweenconscious and unconscious states, before examining his doctrine offree will and his solution to the problem of evil. An important featureof the book is its survey of Leibniz’s moral and political philosophy,an overlooked aspect of his work.The final chapter assesses Leibniz’s legacy and the impact of his philosophyon philosophy as a whole, particularly on the work of ImmanuelKant. Throughout, Jolley places Leibniz in relation to some of the othergreat philosophers, such as Descartes, Spinoza, and Locke, and discussesLeibniz’skey works, such as the Monadology and Discourse on Metaphysics.This second edition has been revised throughout and includes anew chapter on Leibniz and philosophy of language. Read more