Historical Dictionary of Leibniz's Philosophy (Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies and Movements)

394 Pages·2006·6.06 MB·English

by  Stuart Brown

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HISTORICALDICTIONARIES OFRELIGIONS,
PHILOSOPHIES, AND MOVEMENTS
Jon Woronoff, Series Editor
1. Buddhism,by Charles S. Prebish, 1993
2. Mormonism,by Davis Bitton, 1994. Out of print. See No. 32.
3. Ecumenical Christianity,by Ans Joachim van der Bent, 1994
4. Terrorism, by Sean Anderson and Stephen Sloan, 1995. Out of print.
See No. 41.
5. Sikhism,by W. H. McLeod, 1995. Out of print. See No. 59.
6. Feminism, by Janet K. Boles and Diane Long Hoeveler, 1995. Out of
print. See No. 52.
7. Olympic Movement, by Ian Buchanan and Bill Mallon, 1995. Out of
print. See No. 61.
8. Methodism,by Charles Yrigoyen Jr. and Susan E. Warrick, 1996. Out
of Print. See No. 57.
9. Orthodox Church, by Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin, and
Michael D. Peterson, 1996
10. Organized Labor, by James C. Docherty, 1996. Out of print. See No.
50.
11. Civil Rights Movement,by Ralph E. Luker, 1997
12. Catholicism,by William J. Collinge, 1997
13. Hinduism,by Bruce M. Sullivan, 1997
14. North American Environmentalism, by Edward R. Wells and Alan M.
Schwartz, 1997
15. Welfare State,by Bent Greve, 1998. Out of print. See No. 63.
16. Socialism,by James C. Docherty, 1997
17. Bahá’í Faith,by Hugh C. Adamson and Philip Hainsworth, 1998
18. Taoism,by Julian F. Pas in cooperation with Man Kam Leung, 1998
19. Judaism,by Norman Solomon, 1998
20. Green Movement,by Elim Papadakis, 1998
21. Nietzscheanism,by Carol Diethe, 1999
22. Gay Liberation Movement,by Ronald J. Hunt, 1999
23. Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and
Turkey,by Ahmad S. Moussalli, 1999
24. Reformed Churches,by Robert Benedetto, Darrell L. Guder, and Don-
ald K. McKim, 1999
25. Baptists,by William H. Brackney, 1999
26. Cooperative Movement,by Jack Shaffer, 1999
27. Reformation and Counter-Reformation,by Hans J. Hillerbrand, 2000
28. Shakers,by Holley Gene Duffield, 2000
29. United States Political Parties,by Harold F. Bass Jr., 2000
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30. Heidegger’s Philosophy,by Alfred Denker, 2000
31. Zionism,by Rafael Medoff and Chaim I. Waxman, 2000
32. Mormonism,2nd ed., by Davis Bitton, 2000
33. Kierkegaard’s Philosophy,by Julia Watkin, 2001
34. Hegelian Philosophy,by John W. Burbidge, 2001
35. Lutheranism,by Günther Gassmann in cooperation with Duane H. Lar-
son and Mark W. Oldenburg, 2001
36. Holiness Movement,by William Kostlevy, 2001
37. Islam,by Ludwig W. Adamec, 2001
38. Shinto,by Stuart D. B. Picken, 2002
39. Olympic Movement,2nd ed., by Ian Buchanan and Bill Mallon, 2001.
Out of Print. See No. 61.
40. Slavery and Abolition,by Martin A. Klein, 2002
41. Terrorism,2nd ed.,by Sean Anderson and Stephen Sloan, 2002
42. New Religious Movements,by George D. Chryssides, 2001
43. Prophets in Islam and Judaism, by Scott B. Noegel and Brannon M.
Wheeler, 2002
44. The Friends (Quakers),by Margery Post Abbott, Mary Ellen Chijioke,
Pink Dandelion, and John William Oliver Jr., 2003
45. Lesbian Liberation Movement:Still the Rage,JoAnne Myers, 2003
46. Descartes and Cartesian Philosophy,by Roger Ariew, Dennis Des Ch-
ene, Douglas M. Jesseph, Tad M. Schmaltz, and Theo Verbeek, 2003
47. Witchcraft,by Michael D. Bailey, 2003
48. Unitarian Universalism,by Mark W. Harris, 2004
49. New Age Movements,by Michael York, 2004
50. Organized Labor,2nd ed., by James C. Docherty, 2004
51. Utopianism,by James M. Morris and Andrea L. Kross, 2004
52. Feminism,2nd ed., by Janet K. Boles and Diane Long Hoeveler, 2004
53. Jainism,by Kristi L. Wiley, 2004
54. Wittgenstein’s Philosophy,by Duncan Richter, 2004
55. Schopenhauer’s Philosophy,by David E. Cartwright, 2005
56. Seventh-day Adventists,by Gary Land, 2005
57. Methodism,2nd ed.,by Charles Yrigoyen Jr. and Susan Warrick, 2005
58. Sufism,by John Renard, 2005
59. Sikhism,2nd ed.,by W. H. McLeod, 2005
60. Kant and Kantianism,by Helmut Holzhey and Vilem Mudroch, 2005
61. Olympic Movement,3rd ed., by Bill Mallon with Ian Buchanan, 2006
62. Anglicanism,by Colin Buchanan, 2006
63. Welfare State,2nd ed.,by Bent Greve, 2006
64. Feminist Philosophy,by Catherine Villanueva Gardner, 2006
65. Logic,by Harry J. Gensler, 2006
66. Leibniz’s Philosophy,by Stuart Brown and N. J. Fox, 2006
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Historical Dictionary of
Leibniz’s Philosophy
Stuart Brown
N. J. Fox
Historical Dictionaries of Religions,
Philosophies, and Movements, No. 66
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Oxford
2006
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SCARECROWPRESS, INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Awholly owned subsidiary of
The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
PO Box 317
Oxford
OX2 9RU, UK
Copyright ©2006 by Stuart Brown and N. J. Fox
All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brown, Stuart C.
Historical dictionary of Leibniz’s philosophy / Stuart Brown, N. J. Fox.
p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of religions, philosophies, and movements ;
no. 66)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5464-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8108-5464-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646–1716—Dictionaries. I. Fox,
N. J. II. Title. III. Series.
B2551.B76 2006
193—dc22
2005034474
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The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
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Contents
Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff vii
Preface ix
Reader’s Note xi
Abbreviations xiii
Photographs xv
Chronology xix
Introduction xxvii
THE DICTIONARY 1
Appendix: Leibniz’s Main Philosophical Writings 249
Bibliography 253
About the Authors 329
v
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Editor’s Foreword
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who lived and worked three centuries ago,
was one of the first modern philosophers. Though not all of his contri-
butions would still find favor today, there is no doubt that they were
striking and even pathbreaking for the time. And it is abundantly clear
that without them philosophy and, even more so, mathematics, physics,
and science in general would not be at their present state today. Leib-
niz’s role as one of the great thinkers of his age was even more impres-
sive considering how atypical he was in certain ways: eclectic when
many clung desperately to fixed ideas, seeking reconciliation while oth-
ers scorned their opponents, and optimistic in what was often a time of
despair. Moreover, Leibniz was one of the last global thinkers, con-
cerned not only with philosophy and science but also with art and state-
craft, at home in, and writing for, both academic circles and the wider
world. These are more than enough reasons to want to know more about
his work.
Historical Dictionary of Leibniz’s Philosophy is an excellent aid for
such research, which in the case of Leibniz is much harder than for
many others since he published so little during his lifetime and much of
his work is still being published. The dictionary section describes the
more significant writings, as well as the numerous concepts related to
his philosophy, and it also includes entries on significant persons he was
in contact with and places where he resided. The chronology traces his
long career and also some sequels. But the introduction is obviously the
place to start, with a broad overview of the man and his life, his writ-
ings, and his philosophy. The bibliography should not necessarily be
the place to end, since this handy volume can help in studying the more
specialized or advanced literature. As Leibniz’s philosophy cannot be
separated from his many other interests—such as science and law,
mathematics and theology—the dictionary is not restricted purely to
vii
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viii • EDITOR’S FOREWORD
philosophy but touches upon the many other interests of an intriguing
and multifaceted personality.
This volume was written by Stuart Brown and N. J. Fox. Dr. Brown
has had a long and fruitful career, starting at the University of St. An-
drews in 1963 and more recently serving as professor of philosophy at
the Open University, where he has now been elected an emeritus pro-
fessor. He has written extensively on Leibniz, including the early book
Leibniz in the Philosophers in Context Series. He has also edited and
translated Leibniz’s Discourse on Metaphysicsand edited the collection
of papers The Young Leibniz and His Philosophy,1646–1676. N. J. Fox,
Stuart Brown’s last postgraduate student, wrote his thesis on the influ-
ence of kabbalistic mysticism on Leibniz’s cosmology. Dr. Fox also
contributed several entries to the Dictionary of Twentieth-Century
British Philosophers, edited by Dr. Brown. This historical dictionary
was a cooperative venture between teacher and former student in the in-
terest of making the philosophy of Leibniz, and Leibniz the person, bet-
ter known in wider circles.
Jon Woronoff
Series Editor