Die philosophischen Schriften Vol. 2

VII

— Accordingly, the first seeds of Leibniz's scientific studies appear in his correspondence long before they were fully developed and made known to the public. This is especially true for his philosophical correspondence. Of the two great problems around which his philosophical works primarily revolve—the Scientia generalis: "General Science," Leibniz’s project for a universal system of knowledge (the universal characteristic: a symbolic language to express thoughts, the alphabet of human thoughts, and the art of invention) and metaphysics—the foundations of the latter, to which he held fast throughout his entire life, were already expressed in the very first letters from his youth.

Similarly, his correspondence proves that since the publication of his original: "Hypothesis physica" Physical Hypothesis in the year 1671, his attention was constantly focused on establishing the principles of dynamics: the study of forces and their relation to the motion of bodies, and shows how intimately dynamics is connected to his metaphysics. Thus, from the correspondence arranged in chronological order, one can see how what is called Leibnizian philosophy gradually developed—though it was never his intention to establish a specific, formal philosophical system. These letters serve simultaneously as an introduction and a commentary to the second division of this collection, which contains his philosophical treatises, also arranged chronologically.

All letters are printed in full; even material that does not directly relate to philosophy has been retained. Much of this has its rightful place, especially that which belongs to the field of the natural sciences and concerns the phenomena of the physical world; for Leibniz constantly sought to acquire the most detailed knowledge of these subjects in order to lay the foundation for his metaphysics. However, even material relating to other scientific fields that have no connection to his philosophical works is printed, as the correspondence thereby provides documents and foundations for the representation of the