Texts introduced, translated and annotated
under the direction of David Rabouin
Throughout his work, from (De Arte Combinatoria (1666) to
New Essays on the Human Understanding (1700-1704), Leibniz was interested in the great program of a mathesis universalis. However, even if this notion has been the subject of many comments, there is to date no comprehensive study of Leibnizian writings on the issue, nor even reliable edition of these texts. This volume brings together in French translation all the known texts on universal mathematics. Some of them are completely unpublished and were the subject, for the first time, of a transcription from the Latin manuscripts of which we also propose an edition. The result is a new view of
mathesis universalis in Leibniz’s thought, and, consequently, of the place this theme holds in our philosophical and scientific modernity. The publication of these texts is an opportunity to show in action the precise relationships that could maintain logic and mathematics in Leibniz, far from the reconstructions that were proposed by extrapolation from the development of "logical calculations".
The texts presented in this volume have been translated with collective participation in which : Jean-Pascal Alcantara, Valérie Debuiche, Baptiste Mélès, Anne Michel-Pajus, Arnaud Pelletier,
David Rabouin and Claire Schwartz.
Several doctoral and post-doctoral students joined us and helped with their re-readings : João Cortese,
Morgan Houg, Ryoko Konno, Vincent Leroux and Patricia Sita.
The group "Mathesis" wishes to thank Andrea Costa, Vincenzo De Risi, Emily Grosholz and
Siegmund Probst for their help in accessing manuscripts and their expertise. A big thank you to Baptiste Mélès for
his invaluable and unwavering support in the handling of LaTeX.
The finalization of this book was done within the framework of the project ANR « Mathesis », AAP générique 2017 (ANR-17-CE27-0018-01).
: : Vrin
: : June 2018
: : 256 pp.
: : ISBN : 978-2-7116-2816-2
Consult and/or download the Table of Contents
