萊布尼茨Leibniz(1646 - 1716) 。伏爾泰諷刺小說《憨第德》當中最常被人引用的一段話。因此，影射萊布尼茨的角色潘格羅士也就成了這位哲人的標準造像。

"Nothing is more important than to see the sources of invention which are, in my opinion more interesting than the inventions themselves."

- Gottfried Leibniz (1646 - 1716)

Quoted in J Koenderink, "Solid Shape" (Cambridge Mass. 1990)

Leibniz: The Philosopher of Optimism and Calculus

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) was a German philosopher, mathematician, and polymath whose work shaped both modern science and philosophy. Known as one of the co-inventors of calculus (alongside Newton), his mathematical notations remain in use today. Leibniz's philosophy is rooted in his belief that we live in "the best of all possible worlds," a key concept in his idea of optimism. He was a strong advocate for rationalism, asserting that reason and logic are the foundations of understanding the universe. His metaphysical work introduced the idea of monads—simple, indivisible entities that make up the fabric of reality.

Leibniz also laid the groundwork for binary systems, which later became crucial for computing. His contributions span diverse fields, including physics, law, logic, and linguistics, making him one of the most influential thinkers in Western history.

Leibniz has been called the "last universal genius" due to his knowledge and skills in different fields and because such people became much less common after his lifetime

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz

#calculus #polymath #optimism

所有心情：

130130

梁國淦


我還覺得該多被了解的：
Thomas Young
Christiaan Huygens
James Clerk Maxwell



Princeton University Press


In #Leibniz in His World, Audrey Borowski provides a sweeping intellectual biography that restores the #Enlightenment polymath to the intellectual, scientific, and courtly worlds that shaped his early life and thought.
Described by Voltaire as “perhaps a man of the most universal learning in Europe,” Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) is often portrayed as a rationalist and philosopher who was wholly detached from the worldly concerns of his fellow men. Leibniz in His World provides a groundbreaking reassessment of Leibniz, telling the story of his trials and tribulations as an aspiring scientist and courtier navigating the learned and courtly circles of early modern Europe and the Republic of Letters.
Drawing on extensive correspondence by Leibniz and many leading figures of the age, Audrey Borowski paints a nuanced portrait of Leibniz in the 1670s, during his “Paris sojourn” as a young diplomat and in Germany at the court of Duke Johann Friedrich of Hanover. She challenges the image of Leibniz as an isolated genius, revealing instead a man of multiple identities whose thought was shaped by a deep engagement with the social and intellectual milieus of his time. Borowski shows us Leibniz as he was known to his contemporaries, enabling us to rediscover him as an enigmatic young man who was complex and all too human.
An exhilarating work of scholarship, Leibniz in His World demonstrates how this uncommon intellect, torn between his ideals and the necessity to work for absolutist states, struggled to make a name for himself during his formative years.
Out now. Learn more: https://hubs.ly/Q02XrkNQ0

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「潘格羅士講授形而上學，神學、宇宙論，虛無主義，他以令人驚奇的方式證明，沒有無因之果，在眾多可能的世界當中的這個最好的世界上，仁慈的男爵大人的宮殿是所有宮殿中最美的。『已經證明』，他說：『事物不可能被創造成另一副樣子。既然一切都是為了某一個目的而創造的，一切必然用於最好的目的。要記住，鼻子是為戴眼鏡而做成的，所以，我們才有眼鏡。腿顯然是為穿鞋而安排的，於是，我們才有了鞋襪。石頭的創造是為了讓人們開採它用來建造宮殿，因而仁慈的大人才有了美妙的宮殿』」。

這一小段文字大概是伏爾泰諷刺小說《憨第德》當中最常被人引用的一段話。因此，影射萊布尼茨的角色潘格羅士也就成了這位哲人的標準造像。他表面上博學多才，實則迂腐不堪；明明世上充滿罪惡不公與災難，他卻以自己躲在書齋裏想出來的哲學證明「我們的世界，是上帝所創造的一切可能世界當中至為美好的一個」，樂觀到無可救藥的地步。自從伏爾泰以降，每逢發生什麼大事，例如第一次世界大戰與後來的納粹集中營屠殺，西方就一定有作家和學者重提萊布尼茨這句名言，當然是諷刺式的引用。此世如此不堪，你竟然還好意思說它好得不能再好？莫非另一個更美、更善、更公正的世界真的不存在？不值得盼望？不值得追求？

The phrase "the best of all possible worlds" (French: le meilleur des mondes possibles;German: Die beste aller möglichen Welten) was coined by the German polymath Gottfried Leibniz in his 1710 work Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal (Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil). The claim that the actual world is the best of all possible worlds is the central argument in Leibniz's theodicy, or his attempt to solve the problem of evil.

The statement that "we live in the best of all possible worlds" drew scorn, most notably from Voltaire, who lampooned it in his comic novella Candide by having the character Dr. Pangloss (a parody of Leibniz and Maupertuis) repeat it like a mantra. From this, the adjective "Panglossian" describes a person who believes that the world about us is the best possible one.

Pangloss (a coinage from Greek, meaning ‘all languages’) may refer to:

• Pangloss, a fictional character in the 1759 novel Candide by Voltaire: Pangloss is a Leibnizian philosopher, the personal tutor of the main character Candide;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candide