Leibniz and Wolf: critical foundations of the idea of scientific revolution in philosophy

Sententiae 40 (1):44-66 (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

This article reveals the critical content of the idea of scientific revolution in Wolff's philosophy and shows Leibniz's contribution to its formation. Although Wolff's goal was to reform the method of philosophizing on the model of Euclid's geometry, which was based on the Cartesian idea of achieving certainty by clarifying concepts, this clarification Wolff in the sense of Leibniz sees in such an analysis of concepts that would accurately establish a connection between them and show the possibility of the object that expresses this concept. Wolff sees the critical meaning of his method in the fact that by analyzing the concepts to link all concepts and statements into a single system, which was based on consistent grounds and would not contain unproven propositions. This would, according to Wolf, remove from philosophy all the concepts, the objects of which were not possible, and statements that could not be proved. Leibniz's idea of concept analysis also formed the basis of his notion of philosophy as the science of the possible. The critical meaning of this concept of philosophy in Wolff, as in Leibniz, was to limit the subject of philosophy only to the realm of the possible. Although the main critical ideas underlying Wolff's philosophical system were formulated by Leibniz, Wolf's system was still the fruit of his genius. Many of his critical ideas were groundbreaking and had a marked influence on the further development of philosophy. These include, first of all, the requirement to preface the construction of a system of philosophy with research the cognitive abilities of the human mind. However, his attempts to build a universal system of knowledge led to the leveling of the critical content of some of Leibniz's demands, which led to the accusation of him and Leibniz of atheism and fatalism.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 92,410

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Kant's critique of the Leibnizian philosophy : Contra the Leibnizians, but pro Leibniz.Anja Jauernig - 2008 - In Daniel Garber & Béatrice Longuenesse (eds.), Kant and the Early Moderns. Princeton University Press. pp. 41-63 (and 214-223 notes).
A Merely Logical Distinction.J. Colin McQuillan - 2016 - Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (2):387-405.
Leibniz Reinterpreted.Lloyd Strickland - 2006 - London, UK: Continuum.
Christian Wolff and Leibniz.Charles A. Corr - 1975 - Journal of the History of Ideas 36 (2):241.
A (leibnizian) theory of concepts.Edward N. Zalta - 2000 - History of Philosophy & Logical Analysis 3:137-183.
Leibniz: a collection of critical essays.Harry G. Frankfurt - 1976 - Notre Dame [Ind.]: University of Notre Dame Press.
Forces and causes in Kant’s early pre-Critical writings.Eric Watkins - 2003 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 34 (1):5-27.
Automating Leibniz’s Theory of Concepts.Indrasen Poola - 2017 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 1.

Analytics

Added to PP
2021-04-01

Downloads
15 (#953,369)

6 months
5 (#649,290)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?