Customer Reviews

Leibniz: New Essays on Human Understanding (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The contribution of Gottfried Leibniz to the development of man is immeasurable. However, knowing his contribution is difficult to assemble because Leibniz published only one book during his life. Yet, he was a prolific writer of papers and letters to many people on many subject. Beside discovering the infinitesimal calculus, which is taught is all high schools today, he was known as a 'walking encyclopedia.'

The material in this book was made by Leibniz in response to England's John Locke's 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' (1690). The material was prepared by Leibniz to use it in a debate with Locke. Locke proposed physical atoms for the universe. This is consistent with Newton's physical universe. But, Leibniz proposed monads, which are becoming part of modern creation theories. However, Locke died and the debate never occurred. Instead, Leibniz established correspondence in 1715-16 with Samuel Clark, a disciple of Isaac Newton. This correspondence is an excellent summary of Leibniz's thoughts before he died in 1716. It shows the basic differences between Newton and Leibniz in both science and mathematics.

This book should become part of the home library of any intellectual family.