Leibniz

<p>Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) was hailed by Bertrand</p><p>Russell as ‘one of the supreme intellects of all time’. A towering figure</p><p>in seventeenth-century philosophy he was the author of a complex</p><p>system of thought that has been championed and satirized in</p><p>equal measure most famously in Voltaire’s <i>Candide</i>.</p><p>In this outstanding introduction to his philosophy Nicholas Jolley examines</p><p>and assesses the whole of Leibniz’s philosophy. Beginning with</p><p>an account of Leibniz’s life and work he carefully explains the core elements</p><p>of Leibniz’s metaphysics: his theories of substance identity and</p><p>individuation; his doctrine of monads; and his important debate over</p><p>the nature of space and time with Newton’s champion Samuel Clarke.</p><p>He then introduces Leibniz’s theories of mind knowledge and innate</p><p>ideas showing how Leibniz anticipated the distinction between</p><p>conscious and unconscious states before examining his doctrine of</p><p>free will and his solution to the problem of evil. An important feature</p><p>of the book is its survey of Leibniz’s moral and political philosophy</p><p>an overlooked aspect of his work.</p><p>The final chapter assesses Leibniz’s legacy and the impact of his philosophy</p><p>on philosophy as a whole particularly on the work of Immanuel</p><p>Kant. Throughout Jolley places Leibniz in relation to some of the other</p><p>great philosophers such as Descartes Spinoza and Locke and discusses</p><p>Leibniz’s</p><p>key works such as the <i>Monadology </i>and <i>Discourse on Metaphysics</i>.</p><p>This second edition has been revised throughout and includes a</p><p>new chapter on Leibniz and philosophy of language.</p>