Divine machines : Leibniz and the sciences of life / Justin E. H. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith-Ruiu, Justin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm.

Life sciences--Philosophy--History--17th century.

Life sciences.

Science--Philosophy--History--17th century.

Science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (393 p.)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Though it did not yet exist as a discrete field of scientific inquiry, biology was at the heart of many of the most important debates in seventeenth-century philosophy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the work of G. W. Leibniz. In Divine Machines, Justin Smith offers the first in-depth examination of Leibniz's deep and complex engagement with the empirical life sciences of his day, in areas as diverse as medicine, physiology, taxonomy, generation theory, and paleontology. He shows how these wide-ranging pursuits were not only central to Leibniz's philosophical interests, but often provided the insights that led to some of his best-known philosophical doctrines.Presenting the clearest picture yet of the scope of Leibniz's theoretical interest in the life sciences, Divine Machines takes seriously the philosopher's own repeated claims that the world must be understood in fundamentally biological terms. Here Smith reveals a thinker who was immersed in the sciences of life, and looked to the living world for answers to vexing metaphysical problems. He casts Leibniz's philosophy in an entirely new light, demonstrating how it radically departed from the prevailing models of mechanical philosophy and had an enduring influence on the history and development of the life sciences. Along the way, Smith provides a fascinating glimpse into early modern debates about the nature and origins of organic life, and into how philosophers such as Leibniz engaged with the scientific dilemmas of their era"-- Provided by publisher.

"his book provides a comprehensive survey of G. W. Leibniz's deep and complex engagement with the sciences of life, in areas as diverse as medicine, physiology, taxonomy, generation theory, and paleontology. It is shown that these sundry interests were not only relevant to his core philosophical interests, but indeed often provided the insights that in part led to some of his most familiar philosophical doctrines, including the theory of corporeal substance and the theory of organic preformation"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

pt. 1. First things

pt. 2. From animal economy

pt. 3. The origins of organic form

pt. 4. Species.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9786613035417

9781283035415

1283035413

9781400838721

140083872X

OCLC:

713010113