A decorative rectangular woodcut headpiece. In the center sits a female figure representing Justice, holding a raised sword in her right hand and a pair of scales in her left. She is surrounded by ornate leafy scrolls and palm branches. On the left and right sides are classical urns decorated with floral patterns and drapery. A small letter 'G.' is visible in the bottom right corner of the woodcut frame.

PREFACE

The name General Cosmology Cosmologia generalis Wolff essentially coined this term to describe a branch of philosophy that studies the universe as a whole through logic and reason, rather than just through observation. is unheard of in the Schools The "Schools" refers to the traditional universities of the 18th century, which were still heavily influenced by medieval Scholasticism., and I am also accustomed to calling it transcendental original: "transcendentalem." In this context, it refers to the study of the most fundamental principles that apply to all objects in the world, long before Immanuel Kant gave the word a different meaning.. No writer of Metaphysics has thought of it, even in those times when thick volumes on Metaphysics were being written. Yet, it was not by some idle whim that we made it the second part of Metaphysics: for it is of the greatest utility throughout all of philosophy.

Its use is most extensive in Natural Theology The study of God based on reason and nature, rather than on divine revelation or scripture. and Physics. Indeed, in Natural Theology we demonstrate the existence of the Divine Power Numen original: "Numen." A classical Latin term for the divine will or a deity's presence; Wolff uses it here to refer to God as the architect of the cosmos. from cosmological principles. The contingency Contingentia The philosophical idea that the universe does not exist by necessity—it could have been different or not existed at all. This "contingency" implies it must have been created by a necessary Being (God). of the universe and the order of nature, together with the impossibility of pure chance, are the ladder by which one ascends from this visible world to God. And although others before us have used these same ideas, the argument is only now reduced to clear evidence through cosmological principles, so that it may rightly defend its name as a "demonstration" In Wolff's philosophy, a "demonstration" is a rigorous logical proof that leaves no room for doubt.. Furthermore, the principles