Bilingual edition
The unabridged French text alongside the English translation based on the critical edition of Henri Lestienne (1907) and the revised Montgomery-Chandler translation.
Editorial notes and annotations
Detailed commentary clarifying Leibniz's terminology, his engagement with Descartes and the Scholastic tradition, and the historical circumstances of the correspondence.
Introduction by Wilhelm Dilthey
An introductory essay by one of the great historians of philosophy, situating Leibniz within the intellectual, scientific, and religious currents of his century.
Analytical index
A comprehensive index tracing the principal concepts and arguments across both the Discourse and the Correspondence, designed for profound study.
Hardcover binding
Durable, premium hardcover with a ribbon marker, designed for a lifetime on your shelf, and an additional thematic bookmark.
Logos Reader included
Includes a special issue of the Logos Reader dedicated to Leibniz's philosophical system, his relationship to Descartes, and the metaphysical legacy of the monads.
Discourse on Metaphysics
In 1686, Leibniz attempted what almost no philosopher has dared: through his Discourse, he tried uniting God, substance, freedom, causation, and the laws of nature into a single interlocking system. Starting from the premise that God is an absolutely perfect being, Leibniz deduces an entire metaphysics.
Instead of publishing the Discourse, Leibniz sent a summary of its headings to Antoine Arnauld—the most formidable theologian and logician in France. Arnauld then urged Leibniz to abandon metaphysics entirely. Leibniz politely but firmly refused, demanding engagement with the actual arguments and Arnauld eventually conceded.
What followed was a four-year exchange that stands as one of the most extraordinary in Western philosophy. Arnauld accepted Leibniz's premises and drove them to their absolute limits, drawing out consequences he found intolerable. Leibniz rebuilt and refined each argument.
The Discourse was published for the first time in 1846—one hundred and sixty years after it was written. For over a century, one of the most complete philosophical systems ever constructed existed only in manuscript.
Secure Your Copy
Leibniz and His Philosophical System — A Logos Reader original covering Leibniz's intellectual formation, the doctrine of monads, and the hierarchy of perception.
"Leibniz and Descartes", by C. Delisle Burns — Examines how Leibniz inherited and transformed Cartesian philosophy regarding method, psychology, and physics.
Leibniz's Image of Creation, by Florian Cajori — Explores Leibniz's binary arithmetic and its theological interpretation as imago creationis.
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John Roche
I love my copy. The book is sturdy and very well bound, but so far the scholastic commentary is the real gem. I laminated the poster and hung it in my classroom. I hope Consolation of Philosophy comes with a poster too!
Nicolás Carreño Román
Spencer Simons
Got mine. Love it already. The poster is a nice perk I wasn’t aware of. I’m gonna grab a frame tomorrow and hang it on my bedroom wall.