The Philosophy of Leibniz

"Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) is one of the most imposing figures in the history of western thought. ... Recent years have seen a renaissance of interest in Leibniz. Logicians have found much originality in his views on identity, truth, and necessity; philosophers of language have discovered in his writing a mine of sophisticated and valuable ideas relating to topics presently in the limelight; and, epistemologists and philosophers of science have recognized that Leibniz discussed in a very modern way a range of issues central to their interests, too. The present work adds its contribution to this Leibniz renaissance by offering a critical account of the fundamental elements of Leibniz's philosophy, as they manifest themselves in his metaphysics and philosopy of language. Emphasis is placed upon Leibniz's hitherto neglected doctrine of nominalism, which states that only concrete individuals exist and there are no abstract entities--no numbers, geometical figures or other mathematical objects, nor any abstractions such as space, time, heat, light, justice, goodness or beauty."--Dust jacket