468 pp / Softcover / 2011 / ISBN 978-99935-7-997-7 / $45.95
Edited and Translated by Lloyd Strickland
Leibniz and the Two Sophies is a critical edition of the philosophical correspondence between the seventeenth-century philosopher, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and his two royal patronesses, Electress Sophie of Hanover and her daughter, Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia. In his letters, Leibniz expounds upon such subjects as the nature and operation of the mind, innate knowledge, the afterlife, ethics, and human nature. The letters of Sophie and Sophie Charlotte contain their only known philosophical writings, which offer valuable insight into their views and characters. Carefully translated from the original manuscripts in the Hanover archives, this volume presents the first English translation of all the philosophically important material from the two correspondences. The volume offers extensive annotations, deletions, and marginalia from Leibniz’s various drafts. It also includes an introductory essay that provides context for the correspondence and analyzes its main philosophical themes.
“In his introduction, Llyod Strickland proposes that Sophie, Electress of Hanover, and her daughter, Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia, found consolation in the idea of divine justice. Too long themselves unfairly dismissed as philosophical lightweights, proper justice may now be given to their views through this edition of their private correspondeces with Leibniz. Appearing for the first time in English tranlsation, the philosophical selections cover topics from the nature of substance to universal salvation and evidence the independence of the women’s thought as they defend materialism and challenge Leibniz’s conviction that God created the best possible world. The edition also boasts copious and highly informative editorial notes. It is a most welcome addition to The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: Toronto series.”
— Pauline Phemister
Reader in Philosophy and Deputy Director, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh
To view an excerpt of this work, please click here (PDF).
Lloyd Strickland teaches philosophy at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, having previously taught philosophy at Lancaster University, and the University of Central Lancashire.
The Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies no longer sells or distributes books in “The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series.” Starting July 2015, volumes can be purchased by individuals and institutions from the Chicago Distribution Center. Contact CDC by email (orders@press.uchicago.edu), by fax (800-621-8476 or 773-702-7212), or by phone (800-621-2736 or 773-702-7000).
468 pp / Softcover / 2011 / ISBN 978-0-7727-2086-3 / $45.95
