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>