Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Life and Background Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz was born at Leipzig on June 21,

1646. In 1661, he entered the University of Leipzig as a student of philosophy and law. In 1666, he obtained the degree of Doctor of Law at Altdorf. The following year, he entered the diplomatic service of the Elector of Mainz. Between 1672-1672, he paid a visit to London and made the acquaintance of the most learned English mathematicians, scientists, and theologians of the day. While at Paris he became acquainted with prominent representatives of Catholicism, and began to interest himself in the questions which were in dispute between Catholics and Protestants. In 1676, he accepted the position of librarian, archivist, and court councilor to the Duke of Brunswick. He died at Hanover on November 14, 1716.

Works and Contributions Discourse on Metaphysics Monadology New Essay on Human Understanding Theodicy New System of Nature As a mathematician, Leibniz claims with Newton the distinction of having invented differential calculus. As a scientist, he appreciated and encharged the use of observation and experiment. As a historian he emphasized the importance of the study of documents and archives. As a philologist, he laid stress on the value of the comparative study of languages, and made some contributions to the history of German. As a student of statecraft, he realized the importance of the freedom of conscience and made persistent, well-meant, though unsuccessful efforts to reconcile Catholics and Protestants.

God God is the source of all things (monads) and is the uncreated and Infinite monad. God is the end towards which all monads tend to, and the perfection which all monads are striving to attain. He created the monads as good as they could possibly be, and established among them the best possible kind of harmony (optimism). The world, therefore, is the best possible world, and the supreme law of finite being is the lex melioris. Admits the validity of all the various arguments for the existence of God. He adduces the argument from the contingency of finite being, recasts the ontological argument used by Descartes, and adds the argument from the nature of the necessity of our ideas.

Physics For Leibniz, substances are not passive but active - to be is to act. The doctrine of monads: the world is made up of independent, indivisible, unrepeatable manifold centers of gravity called Monads. These are quite identical to the atom, but monads are not identical, they are immaterial. The monads are the only existing substances and are more like souls than bodies.

Thus, all nature is animated (panpsychism). Every monad, except the uncreated monad, is partly material and partly immaterial. The universe is made up of an infinite number of indivisible monads, which rise in a scale of ascending immaterialism from the lowest particle of mineral dust up to the highest created intellect. God at the beginning of creation so arranged things that the changes in one monad correspond perfectly to those in the other monads which belong to its system. The Doctrine of pre-established harmony.

Knowledge The power of representation, which is common to all monads, makes its first appearance in souls as perception. Perception, when it reaches the level of consciousness, becomes apperception. Perceptions are the source of volitions, because impulse, or appetite, is nothing but the tendency of one perception towards another. Intelligence is only a differentiation of that immanent action which all monads possess. Our ideas must be the result of the self-activity of the monad called the human soul. All our ideas are innate. The intellect is the source as well as the subject of all our ideas. Nevertheless, ideas have an objective value.

Ethics Monads making progress along natural lines towards perfection are progressing at the same time along moral lines towards happiness. The road to happiness is through an increase of theoretical insight into the universe and through an increase in love which naturally follows an increase of knowledge. The moral man, while he thus promotes his own happiness by seeking the happiness of others, fulfils at the same time the Will of God. Goodness and piety are, therefore, identical.

Critique His task of searching for unity and harmony (i.e. science and religion, mechanism and teleology) is, I think, impossible. He knew many thinks he was a genius! However, because of this, he was not able to do and finish any substantial work (except monadology). Doctrine of monadology is absurd. He had a positive view on the disasters that occur in the world. These should not be taken in isolation, rather as a whole. This is the best of all possible worlds. Metaphysical existence of an imperfect world is better than no existence at all. Positive view of physical evil they make us wiser and stronger. His reduction of natural laws as mathematical language written by God is absurd.