New Essays on Human Understanding Abridged edition

An extremely suitable focus for the study of Leibniz's thought and of the traditions of rationalism and empiricism in relation to one another.

G. W. Leibniz (Author), Peter Remnant (Edited and translated by), Jonathan Bennett (Edited and translated by)

9780521285391, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 October 1982

312 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

This is an abridgement of the complete translation of the New Essays, first published in 1981, designed for use as a study text. The material extraneous to philosophy - more than a third of the original - and the glossary of notes have been cut and a philosophical introduction and bibliography of work on Leibniz have been provided by the translators. The marginal pagination has been retained for ease of cross-reference to the full edition. The work itself is an acknowledged philosophical classic, in which Leibniz argues point by point with Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. The result is the single most important confrontation between the philosophical traditions of rationalism and empiricism. It makes an extremely suitable focus for the study of Leibniz's thought and of those two traditions in relation to one another.

Editors Introduction
Preface
Part I. Of Innate Notions: 1. Whether there are innate principles in the mind of man
2. That there are no innate practical principles
3. Other considerations concerning innate principles, both speculative and practical
Part II. Of Idea: 4. In which we discuss ideas in general and incidentally consider whether the soul of man always thinks
5. Of simple ideas
6. Of ideas of one sense
7. Of solidity
8. Of simple ideas of several sense
9. Of simple ideas of reflection
10. Of ideas of both sensation and reflection
11. Some further considerations concerning simple ideas
12. Of perception
13. Of retention
14. Of discerning or the faculty of distinguishing ideas
15. Of complex ideas
16. Of simple modes, and first, of the simple modes of space
17. Of duration and its simple modes
18. Of duration and expansion, considered together
19. Of number
20. Of infinity
21. Of other simple modes
22. Of the modes of thinking
23. Of modes of pleasure and pain
24. Of power and freedom
25. Of mixed modes
26. Of our complex ideas of substances
27. Of collective ideas of substances
28. Of relation
29. Of cause and effect and other relations
30. What identity or diversity is
31. Of certain other relations, especially moral relations
32. Of clear and obscure, distinct and confused ideas
33. Of real and chimerical ideas
34. Of complete and incomplete ideas
35. Of true and false ideas
36. Of the association of ideas
Part III. Of Words: 37. Of words or language in general
38. Of the signification of words
39. Of general terms
40. Of the names of simple ideas
41. Of the names of mixed modes and relations
42. Of the names of substances
43. Of particles
44. Of abstract and concrete terms
45. Of the imperfection of words
46. Of the abuse of words
47. Of the remedies of the foregoing imperfections and abuses
Part IV. Of Knowledge: 48. Of knowledge in general
49. Of the degrees of our knowledge
50. Of the extent of human knowledge
51. Of the reality of our knowledge
52. Of truth in general
53. Of universal propositions, their truth and certainty
54. Of the propositions which are named maxims or axioms
55. Of trifling propositions
56. Of our knowledge of our existence
57. Of our knowledge of the existence of God
58. Of our knowledge of the existence of other things
59. Of ways of increasing our knowledge
60. Some further considerations concerning our knowledge
61. Of judgement
62. Of probability
63. Of the degrees of assent
64. Of reason
65. Of faith and reason, and their distinct provinces
66. Of enthusiasm
67. Of error
68. Of the division of the sciences
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]