Chapter I: The Man

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His Parents 1

His Early Education 2

His University Training at Leipsic 4

At Jena 8

At the University of Altdorf 10

His Removal to Frankfurt 10

His Mission to Paris 11

Discovery of the Calculus 12

Librarian at Hanover 13

His Activities 14

His Philosophic Writings 15

His Ecclesiastic and Academic Projects 17

His Later Years and Death 18

CHAPTER II.

Sources of his Philosophy.

Character of the Epoch into which Leibniz was born 20

The Thought of the Unity of the World 23

The two Agencies which formed Leibniz's Philosophy 24

The Cartesian Influences 26

Rationalistic Method 28

Mechanical Explanation of Nature 30

Application of Mathematics 32

Idea of Evolution 33

Interpretation of these Ideas 35

Idea of Activity or Entelechy 39

Idea of Rationality 40

Idea of Organism 42

CHAPTER III.

The Problem and its Solution.

Unity of Leibniz's Thought 43

Relation of Universal and Individual 44

Descartes' Treatment of this Question 46

Spinoza's Treatment of it 48

Leibniz's Solution 50

All Unity is Spiritual 53

And Active 54

Is a Representative Individual 56

Contrast of Monad and Atom 58

Pre-established Harmony reconciles Universal and Individual 59

Meaning of this Doctrine 62

CHAPTER IV.

Locke and Leibniz.--Innate Ideas.

Necessity of Preliminary Account of Leibniz's Philosophy 66

Locke's Empiricism 67

Leibniz's Comments upon Locke 69

The Controversies of Leibniz 72

The Essay on the Human Understanding 73

Locke's Denial of Innate Ideas 75

Depending upon

(1) His Mechanical Conception of Innate Ideas 77

Leibniz undermines this by substituting an Organic Conception 80

And upon

(2) His Mechanical Conception of Consciousness 84

Leibniz refutes this by his Theory of Unconscious Intelligence 85