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Leibnitzens System der Theologie

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This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

345 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2007

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About the author

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

1,393 books575 followers
German philosopher and mathematician Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz or Leibnitz invented differential and integral calculus independently of Isaac Newton and proposed an optimist metaphysical theory that included the notion that we live in "the best of all possible worlds."

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a polymath, occupies a prominent place in the history. Most scholars think that Leibniz developed and published ever widely used notation. Only in the 20th century, his law of continuity and transcendental homogeneity found implementation in means of nonstandard analysis. He of the most prolific in the field of mechanical calculators. He worked on adding automatic multiplication and division to calculator of Blaise Pascal, meanwhile first described a pinwheel in 1685, and used it in the first mass-produced mechanical arithmometer. He also refined the binary number system, the foundation of virtually all digital computers.

Leibniz most concluded that God ably created our universe in a restricted sense, Voltaire often lampooned the idea. Leibniz alongside the great René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza advocated 17th-century rationalism. Applying reason of first principles or prior definitions, rather than empirical evidence, produced conclusions in the scholastic tradition, and the work of Leibniz anticipated modern analytic logic.

Leibniz made major contributions to technology, and anticipated that which surfaced much later in probability, biology, medicine, geology, psychology, linguistics, and computer science. He wrote works on politics, law, ethics, theology, history, and philology. Various learned journals, tens of thousands of letters, and unpublished manuscripts scattered contributions of Leibniz to this vast array of subjects. He wrote in several languages but primarily Latin and French. No one completely gathered the writings of Leibniz.

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Author 1 book123 followers
May 28, 2026
I bought this book a couple of years ago and then somehow forgot about it. Which is strange because it is a very old one (from 1825 and the previous owner bought it in 1844, the second oldest in my library).

What does Leibniz have to say about theology? Leibniz was a really unique thinker. As a philosopher he had created a very special special absract system, you know, best of all possible worlds, and a God who could not help bringing this world into existence. But he was also a man of practice, a politician who was able to say things to please his listeners (something that Russell has critized). And that was the result of his ability to see both (or all) sides of an issue.

In this case he talks about theological problems. Are the Calvinists right in thinking that good deeds do not bring you salvation, for example. He does not think so. Are we permitted to create images of God? It is something that God expressly forbade, and it is not in the least for this reason that Jews and Muslims despise us. It takes him about eighty pages to come to a conclusion. Yes, the reasons for the ban of idol worship are no longer valid. When he starts to list the arguments for the making of images he says that both usefulness and rationality are in favour of images. One of his arguments is that when we hear stories we are making images in our mind anyway.

Leibniz was a Protestant but in almost all specific cases he seems to be on the side of the Catholic Church (which should come as no surprise, as he was such a clear thinker – I am only half joking).
What is your view on the sacraments? What are the reasons for believing that the bread literally becomes the body of Christ during the Eucharist? Here you can learn about it.

I cannot help asking myself, did he really believe all this. My guess is, yes.
99 reviews2 followers
December 13, 2010
To understand how the relevance of religion has changed over the history of philosophy this is essential reading
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