The term optimism as thus extended would also include "meliorism", a word first used in print by Sully to designate the theory of those who hold that things are, indeed, bad, but that they can be better, and that it is in our power to increase the happiness and welfare of mankind.Īs an emotional disposition optimism is the tendency to look upon the bright and hopeful side of life, whereas pessimism gives a dark colouring to every event and closes the vistas of hope. Those, however, are to be classed as optimists who maintain that the world is on the whole good and beautiful, and that man can attain to a state of true happiness and perfection either in this world or in the next, and those who do not are pessimists. Between these extremes there are all shades of opinion, so that it is at times hard to classify philosophers. The term became current in the early part of the eighteenth century to designate the Leibnizian doctrine that this is the best of all possible worlds. Optimism (Latin optimus, best) may be understood as a metaphysical theory, or as an emotional disposition. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99. Rescher’s book is dated, but it can still be helpful to beginning students.Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1967. Jolley covers the essentials of Leibniz’s philosophy in clear and straightforward prose and presents a compelling interpretation. London: Routledge, 2005.įor students new to Leibniz’s thought, this is the first book to consult. For students who read French, this is an excellent supplement to the introduction found in Jolley 2005. Paris: Gallimard, 2004.įichant’s introduction to some of Leibniz’s central philosophical writings constitutes a small monograph in itself: it lays out the fundamental issues of Leibniz’s metaphysics in a remarkably clear and insightful manner. “L’invention métaphysique.” In Discours de métaphysique Monadologie et autres textes. English translation of Le pli: Leibniz et le Baroque (Paris: Éditions de Minuit, 1988).įichant, Michel. Contains fascinating and insightful observations that one is unlikely to encounter in much of the rest of Leibnizian scholarship. London: Continuum, 2006.Ī look at Leibniz’s philosophy and his times. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1975.īroad’s book is a very clear introduction that covers the range of Leibniz’s metaphysical views.ĭeleuze, Gilles. One long first part (“la formation”) lays out Leibniz’s biography and philosophical development the second, shorter part treats “le système.” Originally published in 1962.īroad, Charlie Dunbar. Paris: Vrin, 2005.Īn excellent introduction to Leibniz’s thought, this book emphasizes the genesis of his philosophy. Deleuze 2006 is more broad ranging.īelaval, Yvon. The older introductions, Rescher 1967, Broad 1975, and Belaval 2005, are also good. If one can read French, then Fichant 2004 contains a remarkably clear and insightful introduction. Jolley 2005 is the most recent and also the best of these introductions in English. There is no reason for a student to read all of these works, but students should begin with at least one of the following. The following works should be considered as “first wave” readings-that is, as books and essays that students should consult first in their study of Leibniz’s thought. As this bibliography is intended principally for students of philosophy, his other work will largely be ignored, as well as scholarship on it. He was not just a philosopher, however, but was also a mathematician, natural philosopher, engineer, historian, lawyer, and diplomat of the first rank. It is for this reason that, while he is sympathetic to parts of the “modern” philosophy of René Descartes (b. 1596–d. 1650), Thomas Hobbes (b. 1588–d. 1679), and Benedict (Baruch) de Spinoza (b. 1633–d. 1677), he offers criticisms of it at the same time through the language and ideas of ancient and medieval philosophy. Leibniz was an eclectic philosopher he sought to draw out views that he thought were close to the truth and combine them in new ways to arrive at the most plausible picture of the world. While many if not all of these ideas have fallen out of favor, it is nevertheless the case that Leibniz’s arguments are deep and important and worth taking very seriously. He is perhaps best known to students of philosophy as an advocate of the principle of sufficient reason, the preestablished harmony of mind and body, philosophical optimism, and the doctrine of monads. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (b. 1646–d. 1716) was one of the greatest of the early modern “rationalist” philosophers.
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