(P/B) G.W. LEIBNIZ'S MONADOLOGY
AN EDITION FOR STUDENTS - GOTTFRIED-WILHELM LEIBNIZ

G. W. Leibniz's Monadology, one of the most important pieces of the Leibniz corpus, is at once one of the great classics of modem philosophy and one of its most puzzling productions. Because the essay is written in so condensed and compact a fashion, for almost three centuries it has baffled and beguiled those who read it for the first time. Nicholas Rescher accompanies the text of the Monadology section-by-section with relevant excerpts from some of Leibniz's widely scattered discussions of the matters at issue. The result serves a dual purpose of providing a commentary on the Monadology by Leibniz himself, while at the same time supplying an exposition of his philosophy using the Monadology as an outline. The book contains all of the materials that even the most careful study of this text could require: a detailed overview of the philosophical background of the work and of its bibliographic ramifications; a presentation of the original French text together with a new, closely faithful English translation; a selection of other relevant Leibniz texts; and a detailed commentary. Rescher also provides a survey of Leibniz's use of analogies and three separate indices of key terms and expressions, Leibniz's French terminology, and citations. Reseller's edition of the Monadology presents Leibniz's ideas faithfully, accurately, and accessibly, making it especially valuable to scholars and students alike. Nicholas Rescher is internationally recognized as one of the leading contemporary authorities on Leibniz, the author of several books on his philosophy, a founding editor of Studia Leibnitia, and former president of the American Leibniz Society. He is University Professor of Philosophy and Vice Chairman of the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. (From the publisher) "Well conceived, well executed, and providing an extremely useful tool, one which has been sorely needed... This book fulfills a critical need: Leibniz's major work has never before been readily accessible for students. In Reseller's presentation it will be." (George Gale, University of Missouri, Kansas City) "For teaching Leibniz -a philosopher as difficult as he is important- this is as good a work as we are ever likely to get. It gives good guidance throughout." (Robert E. Butts, University of Western Ontario)