Gottfried Leibniz
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The English used in this article may not be easy for everybody to understand. (May 2012) |
| Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz | |
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 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz |
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| Full name | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz |
| Born | 1 July 1646 Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony |
| Died | 14 November 1716 (aged 70) Hanover, Electorate of Hanover |
| Era | 17th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| Main interests | Metaphysics, Mathematics, Theodicy |
| Notable ideas | Infinitesimal calculus, Monadology, Theodicy, Optimism Leibniz formula for pi Leibniz harmonic triangle Leibniz formula for determinants Leibniz integral rule Principle of sufficient reason Diagrammatic reasoning Notation for differentiation Proof of Fermat's little theorem Kinetic energy Entscheidungsproblem |
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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (also Leibnitz or von Leibniz)[1] (July 1 (June 21 OS) 1646 – November 14 1716) was a German intellectual who wrote mostly in French and Latin. He played an important role in both philosophy and mathematics. He invented calculus independently of Newton, and his notation is the one in general use since then. He also invented the binary system, foundation of virtually all modern computers.
He was taught law and philosophy. He served as factotum to two major German noble houses (one becoming the British royal family while he served it). Leibniz played a major role in the European politics and diplomacy of his day.
In philosophy, he is most remembered for optimism. His conclusion is that our universe is, in a restricted sense, the best possible one God could have made. He was one of the great 17th century rationalists. Many people see René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza as the other two. His philosophy also both looks back to the Scholastic tradition and anticipates modern logic and analysis.
Leibniz also made major contributions to physics and technology, and anticipated notions that surfaced much later in biology, medicine, geology, probability theory, psychology, and information science. He also wrote on politics, law, ethics, theology, history, and philology. Sometimes he even wrote in verse. His contributions to this vast array of subjects are scattered in journals and in tens of thousands of letters and unpublished manuscripts.As of 2006, there is no complete edition of Leibniz's writings, and a complete account of his accomplishments is not yet possible.
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