The Philosophy of Leibniz Metaphysics and Language [Paperback]

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) is one of the most imposing figures in the history of Western thought. In this definitive treatment of his wide-ranging philosophical ideas, Benson Mates has brought his own formidable abilities to bear on the unwieldy--and virtually inaccessible--corpus of Leibniz's work. The result is an elegantly written and meticulously reasoned exegesis of the fundamental Leibniz, one that is destined to be a cornerstone of Leibniz scholarship for years to come.

Teachers who are looking for a brief reliable account of what Leibniz is all about...could hardly do better....Mates writes with clarity and precision....[and] has written what is now probably the best general account of Leibniz's philosophy from the perspective of the logician and general metaphysician. --International Philosophical Quarterly

An absorbing and instructive book. --Times Higher Education Supplement

Lucid and readable....A first-rate book on Leibniz. --Critical Reviews

This is an excellent book: quite possibly the best written on Leibniz since the publication of Russell'sA Critical Exposition of the Philosophy of Leibniz....A challenging, lucid, tightly connected and virtually complete account of Leibniz's metaphysical system and philosophy of language. It is written in a clear and concise style. It displays a full mastery and (first-hand) knowledge, on the author's part, of its (somewhat forbidding) subject matter. It is unquestionably a commanding accomplishment. --The Philosophical Review

We should be grateful for the excellent work that Professor Mates has done. --Studia Leibnitiana