Leibniz Re-interpreted [Hardcover]

Leibniz Reinterpreted tackles head on the central idea in Leibniz's philosophy, namely that we live in the best of all possible worlds. Strickland argues that Leibniz's theory has been consistently misunderstood by previous commentators. In the process Strickland provides both an elucidation and reinterpretation of a number of concepts central to Leibniz's work, such as 'richness', 'simplicity', 'harmony' and 'incompossibility', and shows where previous attempts to explain these concepts have failed. This clear and concise study is tightly focussed and assumes no prior acquaintance with Leibniz or optimism. It thus serves as an ideal entry point into Leibniz's philosophy.

Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: The grounds for optimismChapter 3: The perfection of thingsChapter 4: The perfection of worlds I: RichnessChapter 5: The perfection of worlds II: SimplicityChapter 6: The harmony of thingsChapter 7: Does the world increase in perfection?Chapter 8: Conflicts and evilsChapter 9: Conclusion: how to make the best of all possible worldsReferencesIndex