Leibniz' universal jurisprudence
Subtitle: justice as the charity of the wise
By: Patrick Riley.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 338
Subjects: Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646-1716.; Justice (Philosophy) -- History -- 17th century.; Love.; Ethics, Modern -- 17th century.; Law -- Philosophy -- History -- 17th century.
Description: For the first time Leibniz' political, moral, and legal thought are extensively discussed here in English. The text includes fragments of his work that have never before been translated. Riley shows that a justice based on both wisdom and love, "wise charity," has at least as much claim to be taken seriously as the familiar contractarian ideas of Hobbes and Locke.

For Leibniz, nothing is more important than benevolence toward others, which he famously equates with justice and which he insists is morally crucial. Because Leibniz was the greatest Platonist of early modernity, Riley argues, his version of Platonic idealism serves as the bridge from Plato himself to the greatest modern "critical" idealist, Kant. With Leibniz' Universal Jurisprudence we now have a fuller picture of one of the greatest general thinkers of the seventeenth century.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [277]-331) and index.