as possible, including inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation. Some corrections of spelling and punctuation have been made. They are listed at the end of the text. Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. ] GERMAN PHILOSOPHICAL CLASSICS FOR ENGLISH READERS AND STUDENTS. EDITED BY GEORGE S. MORRIS. LEIBNIZ'S NEW ESSAYS CONCERNING THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. LEIBNIZ'S NEW ESSAYS CONCERNING THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. A CRITICAL EXPOSITION. By JOHN DEWEY, Ph.D., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, AND PROFESSOR (ELECT) OF MENTAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CHICAGO: SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 1902 Copyright, 1888, By S. C. Griggs and Company. PREFACE. The purpose of the series of which the present volume is one, is not, as will be seen by reference to the statement in the initial volume, to sum up _in toto_ the system of any philosopher, but to give a "critical exposition" of some one masterpiece. In treating the "Nouveaux Essais" of Leibniz, I have found myself obliged, at times, to violate the letter of this expressed intention, in order to fulfil its spirit. The "Nouveaux Essais," in spite of its being one of the two most extended philosophical writings of Leibniz, is a compendium of comments, rather than a connected argument or exposition. It has all the suggestiveness and richness of a note-book, but with much also of its fragmentariness. I have therefore been obliged to supplement my account of it by constant references to the other writings of Leibniz, and occasionally to take considerable liberty with the order of the treatment of topics. Upon the whole, this book will be found, I hope, to be a faithful reflex not only of Leibniz's thought, but also of his discussions in the "Nouveaux Essais." In the main, the course of philosophic thought since the time of Leibniz has been such as to render almost self-evident his limitations, and to suggest needed corrections and amplifications. Indeed, it is much easier for those whose thoughts follow the turn that Kant has given modern thinking to appreciate the defects of Leibniz than to realize his greatness. I have endeavored, therefore, in the body of the work, to identify my thought with that of Leibniz as much as possible, to assume his standpoint and method, and, for the most part, to confine express criticism upon his limitations to the final chapter. In particular, I have attempted to bring out the relations of philosophy to the growing science of his times, to state the doctrine of pre-established harmony as he himself meant it, and to give something like consistency and coherency to his doctrine of material existence and of nature. This last task seemed especially to require doing. I have also endeavored to keep in mind, throughout, Leibniz's relations to Locke, and to show the "Nouveaux Essais" as typical of the distinction between characteristic British and German thought. JOHN DEWEY. _May_, 1888. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Man. PAGE His Parents 1 His Early Education 2 His University Training at Leipsic 4 At Jena 8 At the University of Altdorf 10 His Removal to Frankfurt 10 His Mission to Paris 11 Discovery of the Calculus 12 Librarian at Hanover 13 His Activities 14 His Philosophic Writings 15 His Ecclesiastic and Academic Projects 17 His Later Years and Death 18 CHAPTER II. Sources of his Philosophy. Character of the Epoch into which Leibniz was born 20 The Thought of the Unity of the World 23 The two Agencies which formed Leibniz's Philosophy 24 The Cartesian Influences 26 Rationalistic Method 28 Mechanical Explanation of Nature 30 Application of Mathematics 32 Idea of...