German philosopher, mathematician, and statesman who developed differential
and integral calculus independently of
Isaac Newton. He also invented a calculating
machine and is considered a pioneer in mathematical logic. In his Essais
de théodicée (1710), Leibniz spoke of God having created the "best of
all possible worlds" ("world" here meaning not simply the Earth but the
Universe as a whole). In Leibniz's philosophical view, the universe is composed
of countless conscious centers of spiritual force or energy known as monads.
Leibniz talks about the "compossible" elements of any possible world – elements
that allow a logically consistent structure. He wrote extensively in favor
of pluralism and believed in a continuous
gradation of life-forms from the simplest to creatures more advanced, physically,
intellectually, and spiritually, than ourselves. Though one of the finest
minds of his age, Leibniz was not immune to blunders: he thought it just
as easy to throw 12 with a pair of dice as to throw 11.
