Overview

This volume brings together 138 of Leibniz's writings on four key areas of philosophyDSmetaphysics, natural philosophy, ethics, and jurisprudence. His metaphysical writings trace the development of some of his most distinctive doctrines such as the complete concept theory of substance, pre­established harmony, the nature of human and divine freedom, and the infinite analysis of contingent truths. Leibniz's writings on natural philosophy reveal a conviction that the principles of physics ultimately depend on those of metaphysics and his efforts to develop a rational physics grounded not in experiments but in an a priori investigation of intelligible and sensible qualities, such as figure, motion, and colour. The ethical writings focus on happiness, the role of virtue, and the importance of adopting others' perspectives. Meanwhile, Leibniz's jurisprudential works centre on his ambition to create a systematic, rational foundation for law and his plan to reform legal codes by integrating Roman law with modern European jurisprudence.This collection traces the evolution and interconnection of these ideas and projects during Leibniz's formative first decade in Hanover (1677DS1686), and is the most extensive collection of such writings in English to date. Strickland has returned to Leibniz's original manuscripts to produce accurate, carefully annotated translations that document textual variations, deletions, and marginalia. Of the 138 texts included, 88 appear in English for the first time, and one has never been published in any language.In addition to the translations, the volume features a substantial introductory essay on Leibniz's life, work, and writings on metaphysics, natural philosophy, ethics, and jurisprudence from 1677 to 1686, along with detailed explanatory notes on each text, providing context, background, and the rationale for their dating.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lloyd Strickland (Independent Scholar, Independent Scholar)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9780198960027

ISBN 10:   0198960026
Pages:   720
Publication Date:   30 April 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   To order  

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Introduction 1. Leibniz's Life 2. Leibniz's Writings 3. Overview: Metaphysics, Natural Philosophy, Ethics, and Jurisprudence 4. About the Volumes, Selections of Texts, Apparatus and Typographical Conventions Metaphysics 1. Mostly Metaphysical Notes 2. That Not All Possibles Attain Existence 3. Demonstration that God Understands All Possibles 4. Existence 5. On Indifference of Equilibrium 6. Matter and Motion Are Only Phenomena 7. It Is Easier to Understand God Than Comprehend Body 8. Cartesianism, the Antechamber of True Philosophy 9. The Elements of True Piety, or, on the Love of God Above All Things 10. How the Soul Acts On the Body 11. The Distinction Between Mind and Body 12. On Necessary or Eternal Truths 13. On the Reality of Truth 14. The Views of Socrates Opposed to the New Stoics and Epicureans 15. On Those Things Conceived Through Themselves 16. The Axiom: There Is Nothing in the Intellect That Was Not in the Senses 17. On Distinct Perception 18. What Is an Idea? 19. Cause of Itself 20. Middle Knowledge 21. Conversation with Steno about Freedom 22. On the Necessity of Choosing the Best 23. On Proving Divine Existence 24. God Wills Nothing Without a Reason 25. Created Things are Actually Infinite 26. On Free Will 27. On the Complete Concept of Substances 28. Natural Philosophy and Metaphysics: Definitions and Reflections 29. On Affects 30. On First Truths 31. On Necessity and Contingency 32. On Freedom from Necessity in Choosing 33. The Origin of Souls and Minds 34. An Observation on the Memory and Unity of a Person 35. Whether Bodies Are Mere Phenomena 36. On Freedom and Grace 37. On Freedom and Necessity 38. On What is Absurd, False, and Problematic in Descartes 39. On the Notion of Extension 40. On the Infinite and the Immense 41. Reflexive Action 42. Remarks on Mr. Descartes' Method and on Reverend Father Malebranche's The Search After Truth 43. On Consciousness and Memory 44. On the Animal's Soul 45. Dangerous Opinions in Descartes 46. On the Nature of Mind and Body 47. Wonders about the Nature of Corporeal Substance 48. On the Analysis of Truths and Human Judgements 49. On Cartesian Philosophy, Geometry, and Physics 50. Descartes Lost Sight of True Analysis 51. On the Cartesian Method of Doubt 52. Souls Are Either Created Every Day or Are Coeval with the World 53. Difficulties concerning the Nature and Origin of Souls 54. On the Creation of Souls and the Origin of Minds 55. On Dreams and Wakefulness 56. On the Present World 57. On the Way of Distinguishing Real Phenomena from Imaginary 58. Pleasure. An Observation Against Descartes 59. Pleasure 60. We Always Perceive Our Body 61. On Nature, or the Principle that is Analogous to the Soul 62. God is Not the Soul of the World 63. On the Goodness of God's Works 64. Meditations on Knowledge, Truth, and Ideas 65. In Bodies There Is No Perfect Shape 66. On Rejecting the Particular Will of God, Against Malebranche 67. There Can Be Infinite Degrees Among Souls 68. A Vindication of Divine Justice and Human Freedom 69. Discourse on Metaphysics 70. On Knowledge ) 71. On the Freedom of the Rational Creature 72. On Freedom, Fate, and God's Grace 73. On the Nature of Truth, Contingency, and Indifference, and on Freedom and Predetermination Natural Philosophy 74. Parts of Physics 75. On the Equipollence of Cause and Effect 76. That Every Endeavour is Conserved 77. Space and Motion are Really Relations 78. That Motion Is a Relative Being 79. Pushed Bodies Act by Themselves 80. On the Way to Reach the True Analysis of Bodies and the Causes of Natural Things 81. Animal Machine 82. The Secret of Physical Analysis 83. The Laws of Nature, and Observations concerning Motion 84. On Distinct and Confused Attributes of Body 85. Physical Truths 86. Conspectus for a Little Book on the Elements of Physics 87. Preface for a Little Book on the Elements of Physics 88. The Principles of Mechanics Depend on Metaphysics 89. A Plan for Writing a Natural History 90. A Consultation about the Promotion of the Knowledge of Nature for the Needs of Life, and about the Formation of a Society for This Purpose 91. The Human Body, Like That of Any Animal, Is a Sort of Machine 92. On Writing the New Elements of Medicine 93. A Brief Demonstration of a Remarkable Error of Descartes and Others Concerning a Law of Nature, According to Which They Claim that God Always Conserves the Same Quantity of Motion, a Law They Misuse Even in Mechanics. Communicated in a Letter Dated 6 January 1686. By G. W. L. Ethics 94. A Note on Placcius and Fabri 95. On Lying and Mockery 96. A Way to Heighten the Appearance of Something 97. On Excusing and Accusing 98. On Vices in Comedies 99. On the Art of Injuring 100. Power, Prudence, Reason of State 101. Reward. Honour. Praise 102. Supreme Happiness, Highest Good, Ultimate End: How They Differ 103. The Highest Good 104. Happiness. Beatitude 105. Good 106. The Sense of Life 107. On Spiritual Exercises 108. The Place of Others 109. Importunate Reflections on Human Misery 110. On the Art of Controlling the Passions 111. Examples of Happy Men 112. Plan for the Education of a Prince 113. On the Education of a Prince 114. On Generosity Jurisprudence 115. On Jurisprudence 116. On the Enumeration of All Possible Complaints 117. The Method of Jurisconsults as an Exemplar for the Method of Medicine 118. Disputing in Form 119. Commonplaces 120. On Inquiring into the Reasons for Laws 121. Title 1. On Justice and Law 122. On the Interpretation, Reasons, Application, and System of Laws 123. On the Three Precepts of Eternal Law 124. Modalities and Elements of Natural Law 125. Modalities and Definitions 126. Rationale of the Digests. Prelude 127. Works of Jurisprudence Intended for Practical Use Must Be Known to a Practitioner 128. Aphorisms concerning Happiness, Wisdom, Charity, and Justice 129. The Principles of Natural Law 130. On the Analysis of Thoughts 131. On Right and Justice 132. On Justice and Writing a New Code of Laws 133. On the Common Good 134. On the Science of Natural Law 135. On Reducing the Law to an Art 136. The Science of Charity and the Supreme Rule of Right 137. On Justice and Love and the Will of God 138. Preface for a New Code Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Lloyd Strickland is an Independent Scholar who has taught at Lancaster University, Manchester Metropolitan University (where he was Professor of Philosophy and Intellectual History), the University of Central Lancashire, and the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. His research focuses on the history of western philosophy, especially the thought and reception of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, on which he had published many journal articles and numerous books, including Leibniz on Binary: The Invention of Computer Arithmetic (MIT Press, 2022, with Harry Lewis), Leibniz's Key Philosophical Writings: A Guide (Oxford University Press, 2020, with Paul Lodge), Leibniz's Legacy and Impact (Routledge, 2019, with Julia Weckend), and Leibniz's Monadology (Edinburgh University Press, 2014).

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