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Shorter Leibniz Texts
This volume contains more than 60 original translations of papers written by the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Many of the texts appear here in English for the first time and editor-translator Lloyd Strickland contributes an introduction explaining the background and content. As well as contributing to Leibniz scholarship, this volume functions as an excellent introductory text for students approaching Leibniz for the first time. By focusing on Leibniz's numerous shorter philosophical writings rather than his lengthy and/or impenetrable pieces, the book aims to be more ???student friendly' than rival anthologies of Leibniz's work.
- GenresPhilosophy
236 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2006
About the author
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
1,394 books571 followersGerman 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 3, 2018
After reading a bit of Schopenhauer and a bit of Voltaire, I had come to the conclusion that Leibniz was at best naive, and at worst a sycophant. After reading a bit of Leibniz, I have reached the opposite conclusion. He takes elements from my favourite philosophies, especially Aristotelianism and (Neo)platonism, especially that of St. Augustine, and makes them into a brilliant and still original system. Leibniz's writing is as clear as his thinking, and his range of expertise is reminiscent of Aristotle's (which is saying a lot). He even touches on very early palaeontology! This little book has a great introduction and helpful notes at the end of each chapter, and the organisation by topic and chronology is very sensible. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an introduction to Leibniz. It's certainly made me want to read more of his work.
February 8, 2026
This is an especially readable translation of Leibniz essays. My own reaction to Leibniz is always polarized. On the one hand, his work depends on unquestioned basic assumptions like everything has a reason and unity is necessary for reality. Scholastics may have assented to these principles without much of a fight, but Leibniz' unargued dependence on them makes his work feel dated. On the other hand, his continual search for logical consistency is sincere and deeply charming.
December 22, 2025
The introduction is clear and concise, and the selections are arranged by topic.
About Leibniz himself, and his philosophy, I have no idea. He had some strange views, like the monads. But he was also incredibly intelligent and so his ideas cannot be easily discounted. There is a certain logic to his system. If you accept a few of his axioms and ways of doing philosophy, you can sort of see why he would come to the conclusions he does.
Anyway, I recommend this book for anyone interested in getting into Leibniz. Strickland has an edition of Monadology that I also recommend if you want to go deeper. And there is a good collection by Hackett if you want things like Discourse on Metaphysics.
About Leibniz himself, and his philosophy, I have no idea. He had some strange views, like the monads. But he was also incredibly intelligent and so his ideas cannot be easily discounted. There is a certain logic to his system. If you accept a few of his axioms and ways of doing philosophy, you can sort of see why he would come to the conclusions he does.
Anyway, I recommend this book for anyone interested in getting into Leibniz. Strickland has an edition of Monadology that I also recommend if you want to go deeper. And there is a good collection by Hackett if you want things like Discourse on Metaphysics.
January 21, 2009
Strickland gives a very readable translation of many of Leibniz's short texts and letters that previously had not been translated into English. He has arranged them by subject, so it's easy to get a good introduction to Leibniz's ideas on particular topics. His introduction is also very comprehensive and helpful in getting the broad picture of Leibniz's views.
I have yet to read the whole book.
I have yet to read the whole book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews