Introduction.

...to make new truths possible. It was not only the uncommon grandeur of the task that repeatedly piqued Leibniz’s attention; it was primarily the recognition that the true happiness of the individual, as well as that of human society as a whole, consists in the progress of the cultivation of the mind. This realization drew Leibniz back to this work throughout his life.*) However, the realization and execution of this gargantuan problem were hindered not only by Leibniz's multifaceted occupations; the project also foundered on the insurmountable difficulties inherent in the nature of the problem itself.

The first outlines of this great task can already be found in the Dissertation on the Combinatorial Art original Latin: "Dissertatio de Arte Combinatoria" from the year 1666**). In that work, Leibniz develops the idea that all concepts can be decomposed into a small number of simple, contradiction-free elements. He argued that if specific characters symbols or signs could be found for these elements, then by combining these characters, not only could all known truths be immediately expressed in a universally intelligible way, but new truths could also be discovered***). Particularly, however, the establishment of suitable—

*) Two years before his death, Leibniz wrote from Vienna to Remond (January 10, 1714):

I would dare to add one thing: if I had been less distracted, or if I were younger, or assisted by well-disposed young people, I would hope to provide a kind of General Symbolism original French: "Spécieuse Generale," referring to a generalized algebraic notation for thought, where all truths of reason would be reduced to a manner of calculation. This could simultaneously be a kind of universal language or writing, but infinitely different from all those projected until now; for the characters and even the words themselves would direct reason, and errors (except those of fact) would be nothing more than errors of calculation. It would be very difficult to form or invent this Language or Characteristic, but very easy to learn it without any dictionaries. It would also serve to estimate degrees of probability (when we do not have sufficient data original Latin: "sufficientia data" to reach certain truths) and to see what is necessary to supplement them. And this estimation would be among the most important things for the use of life, and for practical deliberations, where in estimating probabilities we miscalculate more than half the time.

**) See Vol. IV p. 72 f.

***) On this point, one should compare the following passage from Leibniz's third letter to Duke Johann Friedrich of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Vol. I p. 57 f.):

In Philosophy I have found a means to achieve in all sciences—through the Combinatorial Art—what Descartes and others have done via algebra and analysis in arithmetic and geometry. This art was indeed cultivated by Lullus and Father Kircher, but they were far from reaching its inner depths original Latin: "intima"...