Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Pauline Phemister (University of Edinburgh)
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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibinz was one of the most influential German philosophers of the seventeenth century. His analytic method laid the foundations of differential and integral calculus – the basis for modern mathematics – and his theory of the relation of matter to energy was so advanced that it can be seen to underlie quantum mechanics. He also made important contributions to epistemology and political theory. His work had an enormous impact on the philosophers Herder, Feuerbach and Hegel, and also on German prose of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, notably on Schiller and Goethe.

Leibniz was born in Leipzig on 21 June 1646 (new form 1 July 1646). His father, Professor Friedrich Leibnütz, a pious Lutheran, taught moral philosophy at Leipzig University. His mother

3213 words

Citation: Phemister, Pauline. "Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2683, accessed 28 March 2024.]

2683 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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