A recent article in this journal describes certain mathematical and philosophical controversies which occurred in Prussia during the middle decades of the 18th century. The article pays particular attention to the position of Christian Wolff and to the views of some of his followers. Both Wolff and the Wolffians are shown to have supported some of Leibniz's doctrines against those of the Newtonian camp. As a result, or perhaps in part as a premise, there is a strong tendency throughout the (...) article to identify Wolff himself with Leibniz. The reader will naturally conclude that Wolff (and, in turn, the Wolffians) must have been a faithful student and expositor of his master, Leibniz. My purpose in the present investigation is to contribute to an examination of the accuracy of this portrayal. (shrink)

This comprehensive history of German philosophy from its medieval beginnings to near the end of the eighteenth century explores the spirit of German intellectual life and its distinctiveness from that of other countries. Beck devotes whole chapters to four great philosophers -- Nicholas of Cusa, Leibniz, Lessing, and Kant -- and extensively examines many others, including Albertus Magnus, Meister Eckhart, Paracelsus, Kepler, Mendelssohn, Wolff, and Herder. Questioning explanations of philosophy by the racial or ethnic character of its exponents, Beck's conclusion (...) is that German philosophy developed as a series of diverse responses to the historical experiences of the German people. The peculiarities of German philosophy must be viewed in the light of German political problems and educational structures. In particular he stresses the importance of the connections between philosophy and Germany's intellectual, literary, religious, and political history. (shrink)

Die Arbeit verbindet in subtiler Weise begriffsgeschichtliche, quellengeschichtliche, kontextanalytische und kompositionsanalytische Fragestellungen, um die schwierigen Probleme, die die Freiheitsantinomie der Kritik der reinen Vernunft aufwirft, einer Losung naherzubringen. Dabei wird deutlich, wie sehr Kants Freiheitsantinomie in ihrer Formulierung von den Diskussionen abhangt, die in dem Zeitraum zwischen Wolff und Tetens gefuhrt worden sind. Auch Kants beruhmte Dissertation des Jahres 1770 erscheint so in neuem Licht. Kants Freiheitsantinomie erweist sich als Antwort auf Fragen seiner unmittelbaren Vorganger. This work combines issues pertaining (...) to the history of concepts, historical sources, context analysis and composition analysis in order to try to solve the problems posed by the antinomy of freedom in the Critique of Pure Reason. The study makes it clear how much the wording of Kant's antinomy of freedom depends on the discussions held during the time between Wolff and Tetens. Kant's famous dissertation of 1770 is thus also seen in a new light. Kant's antinomy of freedom is shown to be the answer to the questions posed by his direct predecessors. (shrink)

Daniel Garber presents a study of Leibniz's conception of the physical world, elucidating his puzzling metaphysics of monads, mind-like simple substances.