Leibniz and his Correspondents

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Contributors......Page 9
Abbreviations......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 15
1 Introduction......Page 17
Note......Page 25
2 Leibniz and His Master......Page 26
Humanism and Conciliatory Eclecticism......Page 30
Aristotelianism......Page 31
Platonism......Page 32
Reformed Philosophy......Page 33
Leibniz’s Master......Page 34
Leibniz’s Letter of September 1663 (A II i, N. 1)......Page 36
Leibniz’s Letter of February 1666 (A II i, N. 3)......Page 37
Leibniz’s Letter of September 26/October 6, 1668 (A II i, N. 9)......Page 38
Thomasius’s Letter of October 1668 (A II i, N. 10)......Page 39
The Early Correspondence Between Leibniz and Thomasius in Its Wider Context......Page 42
3. leibniz’s letter of april 1669 (a II i, n. 11)......Page 47
4. the later correspondence between leibniz and thomasius, 1669–72......Page 52
Thomasius’s Letter of May 1669 (A II i, N. 12)......Page 53
Leibniz’s Letter of December 1670 (A II i, N. 35)......Page 54
5. conclusion: leibniz, thomasius, and their innovative conservatism......Page 57
Notes......Page 58
3 A Philosophical Apprenticeship......Page 63
1. oldenburg and the comenian ideal......Page 65
2. hypothesis physica nova......Page 67
3. theoria motus abstracti......Page 75
4. ars characteristica......Page 79
5. conclusion......Page 83
Notes......Page 85
1. simon foucher......Page 90
2. the leibniz–foucher correspondence......Page 91
3. early communications (1675–76)......Page 93
The Correspondence (1678–79)......Page 94
The Alliance (1678–79)......Page 95
The Correspondence (1684–87)......Page 96
The Alliance (1684–87)......Page 97
The Alliance (1688–91)......Page 101
The Correspondence (1691–93)......Page 103
The Alliance (1691–93)......Page 104
The Correspondence (1695–96)......Page 105
The Alliance (1695–96)......Page 106
9. the aftermath......Page 107
Notes......Page 110
5 Leibniz to Arnauld......Page 113
1. the hypothesis......Page 114
2. arnauld’s first take on the problem......Page 116
3. more on the problem about the reality of what is merely extended......Page 118
4. the aggregate and modal arguments......Page 120
5. the indeterminacy of figure, size, and motion......Page 124
6. extended true unities?......Page 125
7. are bodily substances true unities?......Page 130
Notes......Page 134
6 Leibniz and Fardella......Page 139
1. michelangelo fardella......Page 140
2. fardella and leibniz......Page 144
3. corporeal substance: realism versus idealism......Page 149
Notes......Page 154
7 Leibniz’s Exchange with the Jesuits in China......Page 157
1. foundations for cultural exchange......Page 161
2. exchange with the jesuits – what leibniz offered......Page 165
3. exchange with the jesuits – what leibniz wanted......Page 169
4. the significance of the exchange......Page 174
Notes......Page 176
8 Leibniz’s Close Encounter with Cartesianism in the Correspondence with De Volder......Page 178
1. de volder’s cartesianism......Page 179
2. de volder’s cartesian conception of the material world......Page 180
3. leibniz’s response to de volder’s cartesianism......Page 184
The Attack on De Volder’s Conception of Substance......Page 185
Extension Is Not a Substantial Nature......Page 191
Leibniz’s Critique of De Volder’s View of the Actual Material World......Page 196
4. cartesian dualism and leibniz’s account of body......Page 200
5. conclusion......Page 203
Notes......Page 204
9 “All the time and everywhere everything’s the same as here”......Page 209
1. leibniz and cudworth......Page 210
2. leibniz and locke......Page 212
3. the principle of uniformity......Page 216
4. sensation or reflection......Page 220
5. sensation and reflection......Page 222
6. a further difficulty......Page 226
Notes......Page 227
10 Idealism Declined......Page 230
1. christian wolff......Page 233
2. the correspondence......Page 234
3. a parting of the ways......Page 242
4. idealism regained......Page 247
Notes......Page 249
11 On Substance and Relations in Leibniz’s Correspondence with Des Bosses......Page 254
1. the nature of substance: unity, reality, and composition......Page 255
2. the problem of composite substance in the leibniz–des bosses correspondence......Page 258
3. matter, form, and the unification of forces......Page 262
4. the ideality of relations......Page 267
5. the reality of relations......Page 269
6. conclusion: the possibility of composite substance......Page 274
Notes......Page 275
Leibniz in Vienna......Page 278
The Death of Queen Anne and the Hanoverian Succession: Leibniz Caught Between Hanover (England) and Vienna......Page 279
The Dispute with the Newtonians......Page 281
Leibniz Requests an Appointment as Historiographer of Great Britain......Page 283
Leibniz’s Suspicions and the Increasingly Bitter Dispute with the Newtonians......Page 284
Cultivating the Garden in Vienna......Page 287
Plans for an English Translation of the Theodicy and Leibniz’s Indictment of English Philosophy......Page 288
Caroline’s Allegiance to Leibniz and Her Dispute with Clarke......Page 290
Leibniz’s Response to Clarke, the Abbé Conti, and Caroline’s Continuing Loyalty......Page 291
Leibniz’s Suspicions and the Newtonian Blitz to Convert Caroline......Page 293
Caroline Begins to Turn......Page 294
Leibniz’s Attack on Atomism and the Void and Caroline’s Collusion with Newton......Page 296
Leibniz’s Continuing Suspicions and the Theodicy Project......Page 297
The End of the Affair......Page 301
Notes......Page 305
References......Page 309
Index......Page 321