Leibniz / Richard T.W. Arthur.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Arthur, Richard, 1950- author.

Series:

Classic thinkers

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646-1716.

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm.

Physical Description:

xvi, 231 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA, USA : Polity Press, 2014.

Summary:

Few philosophers have left a legacy like that of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He has been credited not only with inventing the differential calculus, but also with anticipating the basic ideas of modern logic, information science and fractal geometry. He made important contributions to such diverse fields as jurisprudence, geology and etymology, while sketching designs for calculating machines, wind pumps and submarines. But the common presentation of his philosophy as a kind of unworldly idealism is at odds with all this bustling practical activity. In this book Richard T. W. Arthur offers a fresh reading of Leibniz's philosophy, clearly situating it in its scientific, political and theological contexts. He argues that Leibniz aimed to provide an improved foundation for the mechanical philosophy based on a new kind of universal language. His contributions to natural philosophy are an integral part of this programme, which his metaphysics, dynamics and organic philosophy were designed to support. Rather than denying that substances really exist in space and time, as the idealist reading proposes, Leibniz sought to provide a deeper understanding of substance and body, and a correct understanding of space as an order of situations and time as an order of successive things. This lively and approachable book will appeal to students of philosophy, as well as anyone seeking a stimulating introduction to Leibniz's thought and its continuing relevance. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

2 Logic, Language and the Encyclopaedia Project 29

3 Natural Philosophy and the Science of Life 54

4 Mathematical Philosophy 77

5 The Reform of Metaphysics 99

6 Dynamics: The Physics and Metaphysics of Action 123

7 The Philosophy of Space and Time 142

8 Morals and Politics 166

9 Leibnizian Posterity 190.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 208-215) and index.

ISBN:

9780745653747

074565374X

9780745653754

0745653758

OCLC:

892512948

Publisher Number:

99959509580

Online:

Cover