Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Leibniz was a German philosopher who belonged to the Rationalist school of philosophers, to which also belonged Descartes and Spinoza. But Leibniz was not only a philosopher, he was also a considerable authority on law, a diplomat, a historian and an outstanding mathematician — as is proved by his discovery in 1676, independently of Newton, of the Differential Calculus. Leibniz was the son of a Professor of Philosophy of Leipzig University, who died when his son was only 6, but who left behind a fine collection of books which the young Leibniz read eagerly. Leibniz studied law at the University, and then, while in the service of the Elector of Mainz, he visited Paris and London and became acquainted with the learned men of his time. When he was 30 he became official librarian of the Brunswich family at Hanover, where he remained till he died. His philosophy is set out in a short paper, The Mondadology, which he wrote two years before his death. Otherwise, except for one or two famous essays, his philosophical and scientific ideas have had to be assembled from his various papers and letters which, fortunately, have survived. They show Leibniz’’s brilliant intellect, especially in his attempt to relate mathematics and logic so that problems of philosophy could be exactly calculated and no longer be under dispute. He held that everything from a table to man’’s soul, and even to God himself, is made up of "monads" atoms, each of which is a simple, indivisible, imperishable unit, different from every other monad and constantly changing.George Berkeley Berkeley was born of an aristocratic Irish family and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he remained as fellow and tutor. All his best work was written very early, and by the age of 27 he had made a reputation as a writer on philosophy. In 1712 Berkeley went to London and associated with the literary men of the day, among whom he was warmly welcomed. Berkeley travelled widely in Italy and France, and then spent a few years in the English colonies of North America and the West Indians, where he had hoped to found a missionary college. When his hope failed, he returned to Ireland, and in 1734 was appointed Bishop of Cloyne. He spent 18 years administrating his diocese, living a happy family life with his wife and children, and writing books on both philosophical and practical subject. In 1752 he retired to Oxford, where he died the next year at the age of 68. Berkeley’’s claim to fame rests on his philosophy. His views are in contrast, deliberately, to those of John Locke. As an idealist he believes that mind comes before matter, while a Materialist holds everything depends upon matter. Beyond his strictly philosophical works, Berkeley was interested in natural science and mathematics. He wrote an Essay towards a New Theory of Vision, in which he attempted to explain how we are able to judge the distance of objects from us. Though science has made great advances since Berkeley’’s day, his essay is still of value.David Hume Hume is a celebrated Scottish philosopher and historian. In 1739, after a period of study in Paris, when he was only 28, he published one of the most influential books of English philosophy of modern times — the Treatise of Human Nature. It excited little interest, however, when it first, appeared, and Hume turned to writing admirable essays on a variety of topics. In 1752 he returned to Edinburgh as librarian of Advocates’’ Library, and began to compose A History of England, the final volume of which was published in 1761. From 1761 to 1765, he was secretary to the British Embassy in Paris; where he was sought after by the cultured society. For the rest of his life he lived in his native Edinburgh, the central figure of a distinguished group of writers.Hume’’s chief fame as a philosopher rests on the strict and logical way in which he applied the principle of John Locke, that all thought is built up from simple and separate elements, which Hume calls impressions. He believed that even a human being is a bundle of different perceptions, and has no permanent identity. His criticism of man’’s belief that everything has a cause seemed to deny what we assume, not merely from ordinary experience, but from a scientific knowledge; and since he wrote, philosophers have been trying to find answers to his penetrating doubts. Indeed he has had more influence upon recent discussion in England about the principles of knowledge than any other philosopher of the past.
A．Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizB．George BerkeleyC．David Hume
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