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Leibniz: Philosophy in an Hour

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Leibniz: Philosophy in an Hour

By: Paul Strathern
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Leibniz in just one hour.

Leibniz was the first great German philosopher to produce an all-embracing philosophical system. He came to the remarkable conclusion that space and time do not exist – they are mere superstitious assumptions. Only things exist and only God is able to see things as they truly are – from a perspectiveless viewpoint. Yet the infinite of ultimate objects that make up the world (‘monads’) are not material: they are metaphysical and thus not subject to the laws of cause and effect. Their apparent interaction is the result of a ‘pre-established’ harmony that is part of God’s creation.

Here is a concise, expert account of Leibniz’s life and philosophical ideas that is entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Leibniz’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Leibniz in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

 Europe Germany Philosophy Metaphysical
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Critic reviews

‘Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them . . .I find them hard to stop reading.’ New York Times

‘Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise’ Wall Street Journal

‘Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character . . . I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization.’ Boston Globe

‘A godsend in this era of the short attention span.’ New York Times
All stars
Most relevant
Truly enjoying the Series. The duo works. Leibeniz is great book as usual, learning a lot and laughing a lot

Paul and Jonathan are great. Leibeniz super

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What made the experience of listening to Leibniz: Philosophy in an Hour the most enjoyable?

The format was good with a nice max of history about the man and about his philosophy, it was short and to the point (which I guess is the point of the series). The narrator was pretty good, not too slow and not too fast. I will be checking out other books in the series.

Very Interesting

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Warm, witty and lively, the crisp narration of this whistle-stop express through the career of the iconic system-builder's system-builder succeeds in what to me might have otherwise seemed impossible: making Leibnitz's labyrinthine complexity not just make sense, but occasionlly even making me laugh out loud. An audio book that sets a high standard.

A wild rollercoaster ride of a life dedicated to making sense of chaos

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I had purchased a few of these philosophy in an hour audibles....this was so good I have just come back in and purchased every single one with lamenting that there are not more. So very entertaining. The quintessentially British one-liners peppered in are delightful! I wasn't expecting humour. Pure pleasure in listening and learning.

Outstanding

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L. seems to have been the archetypal mad genius, with his mind going in a hundred different directions and a total indifference to anything he found boring. It's amazing how little-known he is, considering the remarkable range of discoveries he made. What would the world be like if he'd taken his calculating machine further?

Fascinating

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