Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: The Art of Controversies (The New Synthese Historical Library (60))

Leibniz is known to the wide public and to many scholars mainly as a logician and mathematician, and as the creator of a fascinating but strange metaphysical system. In these, as well as in other fields, his remarkable innovations were achieved through painstaking efforts to establish a fruitful critical dialogue with the leading contemporary thinkers. He was no less important, however, in his practical endeavor to bring opponents to negotiate reasonable solutions to key political and religious conflicts of his time. Both his theoretical and practical activities were informed by a philosophical mind that sought in all circumstances the most general underlying principles; by a juridical mind that sought to bring order and structure to human interaction, without sacrificing the necessary flexibility; by an argumentative mind that knows that persuading is often more important than proving; by a scientific mind eager to organize past and present knowledge so as not to miss any bit of information capable of pointing the way to new discoveries; by a theologian mind that refuses to admit that religious conflicts between true believers are irresolvable; and by an ethical and political mind whose major concern is to direct all our intellectual work towards improving the well-being of humankind. All these perspectives (and more) are united in what this book identifies as his Art of Controversies, which might also be called an Art of Dialectical Cooperation. For it is based on the idea that knowledge production, acquisition, and evolution is not a one-man affair, but the result of the cooperation of many, coming from different perspectives; whence it follows that not only tolerance vis-� -vis the other, but also valuing the other’s contribution and integrating it – whether it stems from another age, continent, culture, discipline, religion, or individual – is indispensable. This dialectical Leibniz that emerges from the selected texts here translated, commented, and interpreted in the light of their context, isn’t for sure the familiar one. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, it is capable of shedding light on that old, familiar, yet incomplete image of Leibniz, and of adding thus a further reason for cherishing and cultivating the heritage of a truly great man. Leibniz is known to the wide public and to many scholars mainly as a logician and mathematician, and as the creator of a fascinating but strange metaphysical system. In these, as well as in other fields, his remarkable innovations were achieved through painstaking efforts to establish a fruitful critical dialogue with the leading contemporary thinkers. He was no less important, however, in his practical endeavor to bring opponents to negotiate reasonable solutions to key political and religious conflicts of his time. Both his theoretical and practical activities were informed by a philosophical mind that sought in all circumstances the most general underlying principles; by a juridical mind that sought to bring order and structure to human interaction, without sacrificing the necessary flexibility; by an argumentative mind that knows that persuading is often more important than proving; by a scientific mind eager to organize past and present knowledge so as not to miss any bit of information capable of pointing the way to new discoveries; by a theologian mind that refuses to admit that religious conflicts between true believers are irresolvable; and by an ethical and political mind whose major concern is to direct all our intellectual work towards improving the well-being of humankind. All these perspectives (and more) are united in what this book identifies as his Art of Controversies, which might also be called an Art of Dialectical Cooperation. For it is based on the idea that knowledge production, acquisition, and evolution is not a one-man affair, but the result of the cooperation of many, coming from different perspectives; whence it follows that not only tolerance vis-à-vis the other, but also valuing the other’s contribution and integrating it – whether it stems from another age, continent, culture, discipline, religion, or individual – is indispensable. This dialectical Leibniz that emerges from the selected texts here translated, commented, and interpreted in the light of their context, isn’t for sure the familiar one. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, it is capable of shedding light on that old, familiar, yet incomplete image of Leibniz, and of adding thus a further reason for cherishing and cultivating the heritage of a truly great man. Content: Front Matter....Pages I-LXXII Vices of Mingled Disputes....Pages 1-6 The Controversy of Controversies....Pages 7-24 The Religion of a Peasant....Pages 25-28 The Elements of Thinking....Pages 29-34 The Balance of Law....Pages 35-40 Can there be an Obligation to Believe?....Pages 41-48 Controversies on Sacred Matters....Pages 49-54 The Judge of Controversies....Pages 55-64 Towards a Heuristics for Litigation....Pages 65-74 The Method of Jurists and the Method of Doctors....Pages 75-76 Interpretation and Argumentation in Law....Pages 77-92 Towards a Heuristics for Discovery....Pages 93-104 Estimating the Uncertain....Pages 105-118 Towards a Numerical Universal Language....Pages 119-128 The Encyclopedia and the Method of Discovery....Pages 129-142 Towards a Heuristics for Persuading....Pages 143-162 The Other’s Place....Pages 163-166 Persuading a Skeptic....Pages 167-200 On Controversies....Pages 201-208 On Principles....Pages 209-212 Two Prefaces to the General Science....Pages 213-218 Introduction to a Secret Encyclopedia....Pages 219-224 On the Creation of a New Logic....Pages 225-230 New Openings....Pages 231-236 Theology and the Principle of Contradiction....Pages 237-240 Changing Religion....Pages 241-245 Methods of Reunion....Pages 247-262 ‘Characterizing’ Definitions and Demonstrating Propositions....Pages 263-269 Advancing the Art of Discovery....Pages 271-273 Correspondence with the Hamburg Jungians....Pages 275-283 The Philosophical Sin Controversy....Pages 285-303 Confronting the Catholic Hardliners....Pages 305-308 Defining what Pertains to Faith....Pages 309-324 Judgment of a Catholic Doctor....Pages 325-327 Presumptions and Fictions in Legal Argumentation....Pages 329-340 The ‘Method of Establishments’....Pages 341-357 The Achievements of Logic and Beyond....Pages 359-372 Pacts, Contracts, and Natural Law....Pages 373-390 Approaching the Church of England....Pages 391-397 Dialectic Principles and their Application....Pages 399-417 The History and Tasks of Logic....Pages 419-427 Bold Conjectures....Pages 429-434 The Dynamics of Formulating and Expounding the System....Pages 435-443 The Use of Logic Against Skepticism....Pages 445-449 Back Matter....Pages 451-453 ....Pages 455-516 Leibniz is known to the wide public and to many scholars mainly as a logician and mathematician, and as the creator of a fascinating but strange metaphysical system. In these, as well as in other fields, his remarkable innovations were achieved by painstaking efforts to establish a fruitful critical dialogue with the leading contemporary thinkers. He was no less important, however, in his practical endeavor to bring opponents to negotiate reasonable solutions to key political and religious conflicts of his time Remembered mainly as a logician and mathematician, Leibniz also endeavored to resolve political and religious conflicts of his day by bringing opponents into negotiation. The dialectical Leibniz who emerges from the texts here translated, commented, and interpreted is certainly not the familiar one. The book sheds new light on the familiar, yet incomplete image of Leibniz, providing further reason for cherishing and cultivating the heritage of a truly great man. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz ; Translated And Edited, With An Introductory Essay And Notes By Marcelo Dascal ; With Quintín Racionero And Adelino Cardoso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 473-481) And Indexes.