Leibniz-Spinoza Correspondence

The Leibniz-Spinoza correspondence was a series of philosophical letters between Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Baruch Spinoza around 1678. Leibniz, a rationalist thinker, sought to understand Spinoza’s view of God and nature, engaging in deep discussions about the nature of reality, substance, and divine attributes. Leibniz admired Spinoza's rigorous logic but questioned some of his ideas about God and the universe. Their exchange helped clarify different philosophical visions: Leibniz’s belief in a universe of individual substances (monads) with pre-established harmony, and Spinoza’s view of an all-encompassing, single substance (God or Nature).