Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) was hailed by Bertrand
Russell as -one of the supreme intellects of all time-. A towering figure
in seventeenth-century philosophy, he was the author of a complex
system of thought that has been championed and satirized in
equal measure, most famously in Voltaire-s Candide.
In this outstanding introduction to his philosophy, Nicholas Jolley examines
and assesses the whole of Leibniz-s philosophy. Beginning with
an account of Leibniz-s life and work, he carefully explains the core elements
of Leibniz-s metaphysics: his theories of substance, identity and
individuation; his doctrine of monads; and his important debate over
the nature of space and time with Newton-s champion, Samuel Clarke.
He then introduces Leibniz-s theories of mind, knowledge, and innate
ideas, showing how Leibniz anticipated the distinction between
conscious and unconscious states, before exam
