Lloyd Strickland

For a philosopher whose ideas have rippled across logic, metaphysics, mathematics, and beyond, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz remains surprisingly under-translated. Descartes has his Cambridge edition; Spinoza has his Hackett and Princeton volumes; Kant has the Cambridge series. Leibniz, by contrast, has long been served by overlapping “best of” anthologies, many now outdated and based on unreliable transcriptions. That gap is finally beginning to close. A new three-volume edition of Leibniz’s Philosophical Papers (1677–1686), published on April 30 by Oxford University Press, offers the most comprehensive English-language presentation to date of Leibniz’s writings. Drawing directly from manuscripts in Latin, French, and German, it makes available 2000 pages of material, much of it never before appearing in English, and some never previously published in any language.

This chapter explores an overlooked aspect of the optimism debate: meliorism, the belief that the world increases in perfection over time. Contrary to the simplistic view of meliorism as a middle ground between optimism and pessimism, this chapter outlines a nuanced typology of meliorism that emerged over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Three forms are identified: inclusive meliorism (M1), where the world is the best and increases in perfection over time; mediating meliorism (M2), where the world eventually becomes the best through increases in its perfection; and exclusive meliorism (M3), where the world perpetually increases in perfection without ever becoming the best. The chapter traces the development of these forms, starting with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's inclusive meliorism, then examining André-Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval's mediating meliorism, before finally investigating the exclusive meliorism of late-nineteenth-century French philosophers, who viewed continual improvement as the true form of optimism. The chapter thus illuminates how these thinkers developed different forms of meliorism within the context of the debate about optimism, and thereby provides a comprehensive understanding of meliorism's evolution and its relation to optimism.

This volume brings together 124 of Leibniz’s writings on some of his most distinctive and ambitious projects: developing a new logic or art of discovery as a tool for uncovering new truths; creating a universal language with a rational, philosophical grammar structured to reflect human reasoning; designing a symbolic script—the characteristic—to facilitate discoveries across all fields of knowledge; planning an encyclopaedia in which existing knowledge would be systematically arranged to yield new insights; and advancing his vision of a collaborative, higher-order science—the General Science—that would encompass the foundational principles of all other sciences. The writings in this volume trace the evolution and interconnection of these projects during Leibniz’s formative first decade in Hanover (1677–1686), and is the most extensive collection of such writings in English to date. Strickland has returned to Leibniz’s original manuscripts to produce accurate, carefully annotated translations that document textual variations, deletions, and marginalia. Of the 124 texts included, 86 appear here in English for the first time, while five have never been published in any language. In addition to the translations, the volume features a substantial introductory essay on Leibniz’s life, work, and writings on a universal language, the characteristic, logic, the encyclopaedia, and General Science from 1677 to 1686, along with detailed explanatory notes on each text, providing context, background, and the rationale for their dating.

This volume brings together 138 of Leibniz’s writings on four key areas of philosophy: metaphysics, natural philosophy, ethics, and jurisprudence. His metaphysical writings trace the development of some of his most distinctive doctrines, such as the complete concept theory of substance, pre-established harmony, the nature of human and divine freedom, and the infinite analysis of contingent truths. His writings on natural philosophy reveal his conviction that the principles of physics ultimately depend on those of metaphysics and his efforts to develop a rational physics grounded not in experiments but in an a priori investigation of intelligible and sensible qualities, such as figure, motion, and colour. The ethical writings focus on happiness, the role of virtue, and the importance of adopting others’ perspectives. Meanwhile, his jurisprudential works centre on his ambition to create a systematic, rational foundation for law and his plan to reform legal codes by integrating Roman law with modern European jurisprudence. This collection traces the evolution and interconnection of these ideas and projects during Leibniz’s formative first decade in Hanover (1677–1686), and is the most extensive collection of such writings in English to date. Strickland has returned to Leibniz’s original manuscripts to produce accurate, carefully annotated translations that document textual variations, deletions, and marginalia. Of the 138 texts included, 88 appear in English for the first time, and one has never been published in any language. In addition to the translations, the volume features a substantial introductory essay on Leibniz’s life, work, and writings on metaphysics, natural philosophy, ethics, and jurisprudence from 1677 to 1686, along with detailed explanatory notes on each text, providing context, background, and the rationale for their dating.

This volume brings together 52 of Leibniz’s writings on religion and theology, including the book-length Examination of the Christian Religion, in which he defends the Roman Catholic position on various matters of controversy, despite being a lifelong Lutheran himself. Also included are the complete texts from an unfinished project, Apology for Catholic Truth, in which Leibniz writes in the guise of a Catholic. Other writings reflect several of Leibniz’s long-term projects: constructing a philosophical defence of Christianity to show the compatibility of its doctrines with reason; undermining philosophies he believed could lead to atheism, in particular those of Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza; and developing methods for resolving theological disputes. This collection traces the evolution of these projects during Leibniz’s formative first decade in Hanover (1677–1686), offering the most comprehensive English-language selection of such writings to date. Strickland has returned to Leibniz’s original manuscripts to produce accurate, carefully annotated translations that document textual variations, deletions, and marginalia. Of the 52 texts included, 29 appear in English for the first time, one has never been published in any language, and another has only been partially published in its original form. In addition to the translations, the volume features a substantial introductory essay on Leibniz’s life, work, and writings on religion and theology from 1677 to 1686, along with detailed explanatory notes on each text, providing context, background, and the rationale for their dating.

The focus of this paper is a suite of Latin papers from 1685, some of which are still unpublished, in which Leibniz writes in the guise of a Catholic in order to defend Catholicism and counter Protestant objections, and this despite him being a lifelong Lutheran. After providing an overview of these writings (which I refer to as Leibniz’s “Catholic” writings) and the grounds for dating them to May–June 1685, I consider their purpose, arguing against the claim that they were intended to support Church reunion and suggesting instead that they were apologetic in nature, intended as a reactivation or reimagining of Leibniz’s earlier “Catholic Demonstrations” project. I identify the patron Leibniz had in mind for these writings as Landgrave Ernst von Hessen-Rheinfels and support this by a detailed comparison of the “Catholic” writings with the Leibniz-Landgrave correspondence and the Landgrave’s still-unpublished essays. This reveals that the Protestant arguments Leibniz uses in the “Catholic” writings are the very ones that he himself used when writing to the Landgrave, and that the responses Leibniz gives to these arguments are the very ones that the Landgrave used. I also consider the context of the writings, suggesting they were crafted during a period of personal uncertainty for Leibniz and possibly aimed at securing a position under the Landgrave.

In 1753, the Berlin Academy announced that the focus of the prize essay contest of 1755 would be optimism, with entrants required (among other things) ‘to put forward arguments that will be thought most fitting to confirm or destroy this system’. In line with these instructions, entrants submitted essays that were either pro- or anti-optimism. This was to the dismay of one of the judges of the contest, André-Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval (1716–1764), who had, by his own admission, surreptitiously attempted to influence the entrants by sketching out a ‘middle point’ between the polarized pro- and anti-optimist positions in a series of books published between 1754 and 1755, namely Thoughts on Freedom, The Diogenes of d’Alembert, and On Chance under the Rule of Providence. The aim of this essay is to elucidate and historically contextualize Prémontval’s highly original ‘middle point’, as outlined implicitly in the aforementioned books and much more explicitly in a series of essays published after the essay contest had concluded.

** This piece was originally titled "Beyond Borders: Exploring Ubuntu as a Lived Philosophy" but was later retitled "African thought can rescue Western philosophy" by the publisher. ** Western philosophy is often abstract and disconnected from the real ethical problems we face today. Emmanuel Chiwetalu Ossai and Lloyd Strickland argue that the African philosophy of ubuntu, with its emphasis on community, interconnectedness, and practical application of ethical principles, offers a compelling alternative.

This chapter examines the pioneering work of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) on various number systems, in particular binary, which he independently invented in the mid-to-late 1670s, and hexadecimal, which he invented in 1679. The chapter begins with the oft-debated question of who may have influenced Leibniz’s invention of binary, though as none of the proposed candidates is plausible I suggest a different hypothesis, that Leibniz initially developed binary notation as a tool to assist his investigations in mathematical problems that were exercising him at the time, namely those concerning the divisibility of composite numbers, primality, and perfect numbers. The chapter then explores Leibniz’s development of binary, his little-known work on binary fractions and expansions, his use of binary as a symbol for creation in his philosophical-theology, and his response to the suggestion that there was a correlation between binary numeration and the hexagrams of the ancient Chinese divinatory text, the Yijing. The chapter then focuses on Leibniz’s work on other number systems, in particular his invention and exploration of hexadecimal as well as his work on duodecimal. The chapter concludes by revealing a hitherto unknown practical application of binary that Leibniz devised in the last year of his life.

Leave logic at the door and prepare to test your creative thinking skills with these 100 brand new lateral thinking puzzles. Each puzzle describes a situation which at first sounds odd or unlikely, and you have to work your way to the answer using creativity, imagination, and intuition. To cater for all ability levels, the 100 puzzles are arranged into Easy, Moderate, and Difficult categories, and a series of hints is provided for each puzzle to help you along if you get stuck. As lateral thinking puzzles are fun, engaging, and make good icebreakers, they are a perennial favourite at dinner parties, break times, and social evenings.

Leibniz’s claim that this is the best of all possible worlds has been subject to numerous criticisms, both from his contemporaries and ours. In this paper I investigate a cluster of such criticisms based on the existence, abundance or character of worldly evil. As several Leibniz-inspired versions of optimism have been advanced in recent years, the aim of my investigation is to assess not just how Leibniz’s brand of optimism fares against these criticisms, but also whether optimism as a philosophy has the resources to meet these challenges. I show that none of the criticisms considered has sufficient force to pose a threat to Leibniz’s version of optimism or to one modelled on it.

From the early eighteenth century onward, primacy for the invention of binary numeration and arithmetic was almost universally credited to the German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). Then, in 1922, Frank Vigor Morley (1899–1980) noted that an unpublished manuscript of the English mathematician, astronomer, and alchemist Thomas Harriot (1560–1621) contained the numbers 1 to 8 in binary. Morley’s only comment was that this foray into binary was “certainly prior to the usual dates given for binary numeration”. Almost thirty years later, John William Shirley (1908–1988) published reproductions of two of Harriot’s undated manuscript pages, which, he claimed, showed that Harriot had invented binary numeration “nearly a century before Leibniz’s time”. But while Shirley correctly asserted that Harriot had invented binary numeration, he made no attempt to explain how or when Harriot had done so. Curiously, few since Shirley’s time have attempted to answer these questions, despite their obvious importance. After all, Harriot was, as far as we know, the first to invent binary. Accordingly, answering the how and when questions about Harriot’s invention of binary is the aim of this short paper.

This paper examines the fortunes of non-European philosophies in histories of philosophy written by European and American philosophers from the 17th century to the present day. It charts the shift from inclusive histories of philosophy, which included non-European philosophies, to exclusive histories of philosophy, which excluded and/or marginalized non-European philosophies, at the end of the 18th century. This shift was motivated by racial Eurocentrism, which cast a long shadow over histories of philosophy written during the 19th and 20th centuries. The paper also considers recent attempts to produce a more inclusive history of philosophy. By examining the history of the inclusion and exclusion of non-European philosophies in histories of philosophy, this paper seeks to challenge the assumption that philosophy began and has been practised exclusively by European or western thinkers.

Leibniz’s lengthy theological treatise, Examen religionis christianae, has long puzzled scholars. Although a lifelong Lutheran who spurned many attempts to convert him to Catholicism, in the Examen Leibniz defends the Catholic position on a range of matters of controversy, from justification of the sinner to transubstantiation, from veneration of images to communion under both kinds. Inevitably, when finally published in 1819, the Examen quickly became the focus of a heated and sometimes ill-tempered debate about Leibniz’s true religious commitments. For many, what was at stake was not simply the interpretation of a particular text but the very soul of Leibniz, that universal genius and ornament of Europe. The aim of this paper is to chart the various ways in which the earliest readers of the Examen responded to the text and sought to understand it. Such a study will enable us not only to see the varying and quite contrasting interpretations put forward for Leibniz’s motive for writing the Examen, some of which inform contemporary interpretations, but also give us the opportunity to take a deeper look at certain features of the text and the context in which it was written.

La traducción al latín de la obra de Maimónides Moreh Nevukhim | Guía para Perplejos, ha sido la obra judía más influyente en los últimos milenios (Di Segni, 2019; Rubio, 2006; Wohlman, 1988, 1995; Kohler, 2017). Ésta marcó el comienzo de la escolástica, «hija del judaísmo nutrida por pensadores judíos, » según el historiador Heinrich Graetz (Geschichte der Juden, L. 6, Leipzig 1861, p. xii). Impresa por la primera imprenta mecánica de Gutenberg, su influencia en Occidente se extendió hasta el Quinto Concilio de Letrán (1512-1517) « donde se instó a los eruditos a eliminar las dificultades que parecían dividir el conjunto de la teología y la filosofía (Leibniz, Teodicea, 11 ). » Durante siglos, la Guía revolucionó el currículo de estudios de la instrucción escolar al reintegrar en el ámbito de la fe las leyes del pensamiento (la cuarta de las cuales se convirtió en el principio de la razón suficiente de Leibniz). La colección completa de las notas que exponen las ideas de la Guía incluye todos los pasajes seleccionados y reescritos por Leibniz. Esta primera traducción bilingüe completa y anotada de los manuscritos originales en latín sirve como una puerta de entrada a la fe conforme a la Razón. « El excelente libro del rabino Moisés Maimónides, Guía para perplejos, es más filosófico de lo que había imaginado y merece una lectura atenta. El autor, distinguido por su inteligencia filosófica, fue versado en matemáticas, en el arte de la medicina, y también en el conocimiento de las Sagradas Escrituras. » — GW LEIBNIZ, 1685. Antología de Leibniz de la Guía de Maimónides, Capítulo III.

La traduction latine du livre de Maïmonide Moreh Nevukhim | Guide des égarés, a été l'ouvrage juif le plus influent des derniers millénaires (Di Segni, 2019 ; Rubio, 2006 ; Wohlman, 1988, 1995 ; Kohler, 2017). Elle marqua le début de la scolastique, fille du judaïsme élevée par des penseurs juifs, selon l'historien Heinrich Graetz (Geschichte der Juden, L. 6, Leipzig 1861, p. xii). Imprimée par la première presse mécanique de Gutenberg, son influence en Occident s'étendit jusqu'au Vème concile du Latran (1512-1517) « où les savants furent encouragés à lever les difficultés qui semblaient diviser l'ensemble de la théologie et de la philosophie — (Leibniz, Théodicée, 11 ) ». Pendant des siècles, le Guide a révolutionné le programme d'instruction scolaire en réintégrant dans le domaine de la foi les lois de la pensée (dont la quatrième est devenue le principe de la raison suffisante de Leibniz). Cette collection complète de notes qui expose les idées du Guide fournit tous les passages sélectionnés et réécrits par Leibniz. Cette première traduction complète bilingue annotée des manuscrits originaux en latin sert de porte d'entrée à la foi conforme à la Raison. « L'excellent livre du Rabbin Moïse Maïmonide, le Guide des égarés, est plus philosophique que je ne l'avais imaginé et mérite une lecture attentive. L'auteur, distingué par son intelligence en philosophie, était versé dans les mathématiques, l'art médical, et aussi dans la connaissance de Saintes Écritures. » — G. W. LEIBNIZ, 1685, Anthologie de Leibniz du Guide de Maïmonide, Chapitre III.

Maimonides’ Latin translation of Moreh Nevukhim | Guide for the Perplexed, was the most influential Jewish work in the last millennia (Di Segni, 2019; Rubio, 2006; Wohlman, 1988, 1995; Kohler, 2017). It marked the beginning of scholasticism, a daughter of Judaism raised by Jewish thinkers, according to historian Heinrich Graetz (Geschichte der Juden, L. 6, Leipzig 1861, p. xii). Printed by Gutenberg's first mechanical press, its influence in the West went as far as the Fifth Lateran Council (1512 — 1517) "where scholars were encouraged to remove the difficulties which seemed to divide the whole of theology and philosophy (Leibniz, Théodicée, 11)." For centuries, the Guide revolutionized the curriculum of school instruction by reintegrating the natural laws of thought in the sphere of faith (the fourth of which became Leibniz’ Principle of sufficient reason). This complete collection of notes expounds the ideas of the Guide and features all the passages selected and rewritten by Leibniz. This first complete annotated bilingual translation of the original manuscripts in Latin serves as an entry point to the faith in conformity with Reason. This complete collection of notes expounds the ideas of the Guide as selected and rewritten by Leibniz, the famous mathematician inventor of computer arithmetic, considered the last universal genius. The first complete bilingual translation in three centuries features on the front cover Rembrandt's Philosopher in meditation, and a recommendation from Leibniz's himself on the back: "Rabbi Maimonides' excellent book, A Guide for the Perplexed, is more philosophical than I imagined and worthy of careful reading." According to Malbim’s translator, Noah Rosenbloom, the book’s epigraph indicates that nineteenth-century Rabbi Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, also known as Malbim, was familiar with Leibniz’ Theodicy. In Leibniz’ anthology of the Guide, the reader can get a detailed glimpse of Leibniz' impressions of Maimonides. The Foreword by Leibniz' translator Lloyd Strickland suggests that there were sympathies and perhaps even overlaps between the thoughts of both universal luminaries.

In 1682, Leibniz published an essay containing his solution to the classic problem of squaring the circle: the alternating converg-ing series that now bears his name. Yet his attempts to disseminate his quadrature results began seven years earlier and included four distinct approaches: the conventional (journal article), the grand (treatise), the impostrous (pseudepigraphia), and the extravagant (medals). This paper examines Leibniz’s various attempts to disseminate his series formula. By examining oft-ignored writings, as well as unpublished manuscripts, this paper answers the question of how one of the greatest mathematicians sought to introduce his first great geometrical discovery to the world.

The first collection of Leibniz's key writings on the binary system, newly translated, with many previously unpublished in any language. The polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) is known for his independent invention of the calculus in 1675. Another major—although less studied—mathematical contribution by Leibniz is his invention of binary arithmetic, the representational basis for today's digital computing. This book offers the first collection of Leibniz's most important writings on the binary system, all newly translated by the authors with many previously unpublished in any language. Taken together, these thirty-two texts tell the story of binary as Leibniz conceived it, from his first youthful writings on the subject to the mature development and publication of the binary system. As befits a scholarly edition, Strickland and Lewis have not only returned to Leibniz's original manuscripts in preparing their translations, but also provided full critical apparatus. In addition to extensive annotations, each text is accompanied by a detailed introductory “headnote” that explains the context and content. Additional mathematical commentaries offer readers deep dives into Leibniz's mathematical thinking. The texts are prefaced by a lengthy and detailed introductory essay, in which Strickland and Lewis trace Leibniz's development of binary, place it in its historical context, and chart its posthumous influence, most notably on shaping our own computer age.