III.

Philosophy

In the philosophy expounded by Leibniz, the universe is composed of countless conscious centres of spiritual force or energy, known as monads. Each monad represents an individual microcosm, mirroring the universe in varying degrees of perfection and developing independently of all other monads. The universe that these monads constitute is the harmonious result of a divine plan. Humans, however, with their limited vision, cannot accept such evils as disease and death as part of a universal harmony. This Leibnizian universe, “the best of all possible worlds”, is satirized as a utopia by the French author Voltaire in his novel Candide (1759).

Important philosophical works by Leibniz include Essays in Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Liberty of Man, and the Origin of Evil (2 vols., 1710; trans. in Philosophical Works, 1890), Monadology (1714; published in Latin as Principia Philosophiae, 1721; trans. 1890), and New Essays Concerning Human Understanding (1703; pub. 1765; trans. 1916). The latter two greatly influenced German philosophers of the 18th century, including Christian Wolff and Immanuel Kant.