Leibniz occupies an important position in the history of mathematics and philosophy. Mathematically, both he and Newton discovered calculus independently, and the mathematical symbols of calculus he used were more extensive. The symbols invented by Leibniz are generally considered to be more comprehensive and have a wider scope of application. Leibniz also contributed to the development of binary system.
In philosophy, Leibniz's optimism is the most famous; He believes that "our universe, in a sense, is the best universe created by God". He, Descartes and baruch Spinoza are considered as the three greatest rationalist philosophers in17th century. Leibniz's work in philosophy foresaw the birth of modern logic and analytical philosophy, but it was also obviously influenced by the tradition of scholasticism, and he used first principles or transcendental definitions more than experimental evidence to draw conclusions.
Leibniz has left his works in many fields, such as politics, law, ethics, theology, philosophy, history and linguistics.
Early life
1646 In July, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born in Leipzig, the Holy Roman Empire. His grandfather worked in Saxony for three generations. His father was Friedrich Leibniz and his mother was catherina Schmuck. When he grew up, the spelling of Leibniz's name was changed to "Leibniz", but most people used to write "Leibniz". In his later years, his signature was often written as "von Leibniz" to show his aristocratic status. After Leibniz's death, his works were made public. The author's name is often "Freiherr [Baron] G. W. von Leibniz", but no one is sure whether he really has the title of Baron.
Leibniz's father, an ethics professor at Leipzig University, died when Leibniz was 6 years old, leaving a private library. /kloc-When he was 0/2 years old, he taught himself Latin and began to learn Greek. /kloc-He entered the University of Leipzig at the age of 0/4 and finished his studies at the age of 20, majoring in law and general university courses. 1666, he published his first philosophical book called "Dualistic Art".
Serve in the court
1666 After receiving his Ph.D. in Ortoff, Leibniz refused the appointment of a teaching post and was introduced by Baron Boineburg, a politician at that time, as Johann Philipp von Sch? High Court of Embern.
167 1 year, he published two papers, "Theoria motus abstracti" and "Hypothesis physica nova", which were dedicated to the Academy of Sciences in Paris and the Royal Society in London respectively, which increased the popularity of European academic circles at that time.
1672, Leibniz was sent to Paris by john philip to shake Louis XIV's interest in invading Holland and other Germanic neighbors in western Europe, and turned his attention to Egypt. The political plan didn't succeed, but Leibniz entered the Parisian intelligentsia and met brandeis and mathematician Huygens. During this period, Leibniz specialized in mathematics and invented calculus.
Boynburg and john philip died in 1672 and 1673 respectively, forcing Leibniz to leave Paris in 1676 to work for Johann Friedrich, Duke of Hanover. After taking office, he stopped by The Hague to visit Spinoza and discussed philosophy with him for a few days. Leibniz then went to the Hanover Management Library and served as the Duke's legal adviser.
1680 to 1685 as mining engineer of Hatoyama silver mine. During this period, Leibniz devoted himself to designing windmills to extract groundwater from mines. However, the plan failed because of technical problems and the resistance of miners' traditional ideas.
From 1685, he was entrusted by Ernst August, the successor duke, to study his noble family tree of Brunswick-Lueneburg. The plan was not completed until Leibniz died.
1686, he completed "Metafisik Essays".
From 65438 to 0689, he traveled in Italy and completed the study of the Brunswick-Lueneburg genealogy. At that time, I met the missionaries sent by the Jesuits in China, and I became more interested in China.
1695, the new system was published in a journal, which made the theory of "predetermined harmony" between entities and between mind and things in Leibniz's philosophy widely known.
Serve as dean
1700, Leibniz persuaded Frederick III, the elector of Brandenburg, to establish the Berlin Academy of Sciences and served as the first president.
1704 completed the new theory of human rationality. This paper criticizes Locke's theory of human reason chapter by chapter with the genre of dialogue. But because of Locke's sudden death, Leibniz didn't want to be accused of bullying the dead, so this book was never published before Leibniz's death.
17 10, out of gratitude to Sophie Charlotte, Queen of Prussia who died in 1705, Essis de thé odicé e was published.
17 14 wrote "Monologue Theory" (the title of La Monadologie was added by later generations) and "Principles of Nature and Grace Based on Reason" in Vienna. In the same year, Georg Ludwig, Duke of Hanover, succeeded King George I of England, but refused to bring Leibniz to London, alienating him from Hanover.
die a natural death
17161kloc-0/4 Leibniz died alone in hanover. Except for his own secretary, although George Ludwig happened to be in Hanover, no one else in the court attended his funeral. It was not until a few months before his death that he finished a manuscript about China people's religious thoughts: On the Natural Theology of China people.