Leibniz in His World

The Making of a Savant

Audrey Borowski, Audrey Borowski

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English

Princeton University Pres
01 March 2025

Biography; Biography: general; Biography: science, technology & engineering; Western philosophy: Enlightenment; History of mathematics; History of science

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.

By: Audrey Borowski, Audrey Borowski
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691260747
ISBN 10: 0691260745
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 March 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Audrey Borowski is a research fellow with the Desirable Digitalisation project, a joint initiative of the universities of Bonn and Cambridge that investigates how to design AI and other digital technologies in responsible ways. She received her PhD from the University of Oxford and is a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement and Aeon.

Reviews for Leibniz in His World: The Making of a Savant

""In the superbly researched Leibniz in His World, Borowski . . . challenges the typical image of Leibniz as a solitary mathematical genius by demonstrating that his was one of the most intellectually peripatetic minds of his age who played an active role in the emerging Republic of Letters, an intellectual community."" * Choice *