Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Bernhard Christoph Francke

The Leibniz–Clarke correspondence was a

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and

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debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

conducted in an exchange of letters between the

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thinker

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ...

and

Samuel Clarke Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Early life and studies Clarke was born in Norwich, ...

, an

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supporter of

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...

during the years 1715 and 1716. The exchange began because of a letter Leibniz wrote to

Caroline of Ansbach , father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach , birth_date = , birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = St James's Pa ...

, in which he remarked that Newtonian physics was detrimental to

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. Eager to defend the Newtonian view, Clarke responded, and the correspondence continued until the death of Leibniz in 1716. Although a variety of subjects are touched on in the letters, the main interest for modern readers is in the dispute between the

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theory of

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...

favoured by Newton and Clarke, and Leibniz's relational approach. Also important is the conflict between Clarke's and Leibniz's opinions on

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

and whether God must create the

best of all possible worlds The phrase "the best of all possible worlds" (french: Le meilleur des mondes possibles; german: Die beste aller möglichen Welten) was coined by the German polymath and Enlightenment philosopher Gottfried Leibniz in his 1710 work ''Essais de Th ...

. Leibniz had published only one book on moral matters, the '' Theodicée'' (1710), and his more metaphysical views had never been exposed to a sufficient extent, so the collected letters were met with interest by their contemporaries. The primary dispute between Leibniz and Newton about calculus was still fresh in the public's mind and it was taken as a matter of course that it was Newton himself who stood behind Clarke's replies.

Editions

The Leibniz-Clarke letters were first published under Clarke's name in the year following Leibniz's death. He wrote a preface, took care of the translation from French, added notes and some of his own writing. In 1720 Pierre Desmaizeaux published a similar volume in a French translation, including quotes from Newton's work. It is quite certain that for both editions the opinion of Newton himself has been sought and Leibniz left at a disadvantage. However the German translation of the correspondence published by Kohler, also in 1720, contained a reply to Clarke's last letter which Leibniz had not been able to answer. The letters have been reprinted in most collections of Leibniz's works and regularly published in stand-alone editions.A full list is given in Alexander H., ''The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence'', with extracts from Newton's ''Principia'' and ''Opticks'', edited with an introduction and notes, Manchester, 1955 (and reeditions); for a more recent edition see e.g. ''G. W. Leibniz and Samuel Clarke: Correspondence'', Edited, with Introduction, by Roger Ariew, Hackett Publishing Co. Inc. Indianapolis/Cambridge, 2000.

Notes

References

* G.V. Leroy, ''Die philosophische Probleme in dem Briefwechsel Leibniz und Clarke'', Giessen, 1893. * * Rowe, William L., "Can God Be Free?", Oxford UP, 2004. .

External links

Complete transcription of the 1717 edition at The Newton Project

Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy - Divine Freedom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibniz-Clarke correspondence 1715 documents 1716 documents Philosophical debates Historical physics publications Space Correspondences Works by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Caroline of Ansbach

Editions

See also

Notes

References

External links