The Philosophy of Leibniz (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I. THE philosophy of Leibniz, though never presented to the world as a systematic whole, was nevertheless, as a careful examination shows, an unusually complete..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is impossible not to see in Mr. Russell's work elements of real originality and great power of argument..." -- The Guardian

"Mr. Russell's very brilliant criticism of Leibniz . . . is a piece of controversial philosophy as well as a contribution to history." -- Bernard Bosenquet

It is impossible not to see in Mr. Russell's work elements of real originality and great power of argument, which together may lead to striking results in the future.
From the reviews of the earlier edition:
–The Guardian

Mr. Russell's very brilliant criticism of Leibniz . . . is a piece of controversial philosophy as well as a contribution to history.
–Bernard Bosenquet

Product Description

The Philosophy of Leibniz is Bertrand Russell's first strictly philosophical work, and remains one of the most important studies of Leibniz ever published. This work established an approach to studying philosophers of the past that emphasizes the philosophical rather than the historical. In Russell's own words, ``Philosophic truth and falsehood, in short, rather than historical fact, are what primarily demand our attention in this inquiry.''

Russell's interpretation emphasized the logical and deductive power of Leibniz's system in opposition to the standard interpretations that had previously led Russell to believe that ``the Monadology was a kind of fantastic fairy tale.'' This paperback edition of The Philosophy of Leibniz includes an introduction by John G. Slater of the University of Toronto.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 3 edition (December 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041508296X
• ISBN-13: 978-0415082969
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,756,972 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Historically important work, but dismissible for its contents , October 29, 2007

By	G. Gecewicz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Philosophy of Leibniz: A Critical Exposition of With an Appendix of Leading Passages (Paperback)

Russell's famous work is of great importance historically because it set the tone for Leibniz study for a generation. Today this tone has been completely rejected by modern Leibniz scholars. Russell's work says more about Russell than Leibniz. Russell uses Leibniz as a punching bag to push his dogma. I recommend the many papers and journal entries written over the last 100 years which basically have proven almost every major attack Russell made on Leibniz to be unjustified. Still, this book is a must read for any serious Leibniz scholar for its historical importance alone and to understand why so many scholars after Russell had the narrow interpretation of Leibniz that they did.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important for the history of predicate logic crtiques, July 21, 2007

By	W. Jamison "William S. Jamison" (Eagle River, Ak United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As Russell lays out Leibniz' system giving five axioms and critiques two as false, we have an interesting historical analysis of predicate logic as well as the analytic - synthetic distinction both pre-Kant, and a la Russell. This is certainly bound to interest logicians and historians of logic as well as Leibniz students.