Leibniz and the Rational Order of Nature

ISBN-13: 9780521597371 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 320 str.

Donald Rutherford

Opis

This is the most up-to-date and comprehensive interpretation of the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Among its other virtues, it makes considerable use of unpublished manuscript sources. The book seeks to demonstrate the systematic unity of Leibniz's thought, in which theodicy, ethics, metaphysics and natural philosophy cohere. The key, underlying idea of the system is the conception of nature as an order designed by God to maximize the opportunities for the exercise of reason.

Recenzje

'Leibniz and the Rational Order of Nature is a learned and sensible book.' Journal of Religious Studies

Spis treści

Part I. Theodicy: 1. The vindication of divine justice; 2. The maximisation of perfection and harmony; 3. Happiness and virtue in the best of all possible worlds; Part II. First philosophy: 4. Metaphysics and its method; 5. The categories of thought and being; 6. Substance; Part III. Nature: 7. Modelling the best of all possible worlds; 8. Monads, matter, and organisms; 9. Dynamics and the reality of matter; 10. Corporeal substance and the union of soul body.