Leibniz & Clarke: A Study of Their Correspondence

The correspondence between Leibniz and Samuel Clarke (1715-??) was probably the most famous and influential philosophical exchange of the eighteenth century. It focused on the clash between the Newtonian and Leibnizian world systems, involving disputes in physics, theology, and metaphysics. The letters ranged over an extraordinary array of topics: divine immensity and eternity, the relation of God to the world, the soul and its relation to the body, free will, space and time, the nature of miracles, the nature of matter, the existence of atoms and the void, the size of the universe, and the nature of motive force. Vailati's book provides a comprehensive overview and commentary on this important body of letters. He not only identifies and evaluates the various arguments, but situates the views advanced by the correspondents in the context of their principal writings.