Abstract

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) has a prominent worldwide place in the history of scientific thought, from mathematics, logic, and physics to astronomy and engineering. In 2016, both his birth and death have been commemorated. Given the influence by Leibniz on Western sciences and philosophies and his polyhedric scientific activities, this special book chooses to focus on Leibniz's scientific works. In particular, we explore Leibniz's intellectual matrix and heritage within interdisciplinary fields, and present contributions from leading experts on the subject. The book offers much-needed insights into the subject from scientific, historical, philosophical and nature of science perspectives. It also provides authoritative introductions to scholarly contributions, which are often dispersed in journals and books not easily accessible to every reader. Therefore, this volume also contains excellent chapters on topics which, generally speaking, have their place in any rounded science, history or philosophy topic. It provides an absorbing and significant read for historians, philosophers and scientists alike. Editors Raffaele Pisano is full professor at the Lille University, France. Michel Fichant is Emeritus professor at the Sorbonne University, France. Paolo Bussotti is senior lecturer-researcher at the Udine University, Italy. Agamenon R. E. Oliveira is full professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Foreword Eberhard Knobloch is Emeritus professor at the Berlin University of Technology, Germany.