Chap. XII.] Philosophy of the Human Mind, 1 85 



his Essai/ on Truth, and other puhlications ; hy 

 Dr. Oswald, in his Jppcal to Common ."^msc in Be- 

 half of Religion ; hy lord Kamcs, in his Sketches 

 of the Histo?y of Jllan ; hy Dr. A. Ferguson, in 

 his Principles of Moral and Political Science; and 

 hy some other respectable writers. 



A system of pneumatology, partly helonging to 

 the eighteenth century, from the noise which it 

 made, and the speculations which it excited dur- 

 ing that period, is that of the celebrated Leibnitz, 

 a philosopher of Germany *, who was mentioned 

 in a former chapter f. This system appears to 

 have been formed by its author with a view, on 

 the one hand, to amend the theory of des Cartes, 

 and on the other to oppose the doctrines of New- 

 ton. Leibnitz conceived the whole universe, minds 

 as well as bodies, to be made up o'i monads, tjiat is, 



* In chronological strictness the system of Leibnitz ought to 

 have been noticed before those of Berkeley, Hume, and Reid; 

 but as tlie latter stood in close connection \\ iih the doctrines of 

 Malebranche, and as it did not appear expedient to interrupt the 

 course of narration respecting them, it has been judged proper to 

 hitroduce a brief account of the doctrines of the illustrious Ger- 

 man in this place. 



t Godfrey William Leibnitz was born at Leipsic, in Saxony, in 

 the year 1046. He was a prodigy of learning, had nn astonish- 

 ing memory, and possessed great vigour and versatility of talents. 

 His works are very voluminous. His doctrines concerning the 

 • mind may be gathered from his T/ieodicca, published towards the 

 close of the seventeentli century. The system of philosopliy 

 taught in this work was designed partly in emendation of the Car- 

 tesian, and partly in opposition to the Newtonian. Leibnitz re- 

 tained the subtle matter, the universal plenitude, and the vortices 

 ©f des Cartes, but differed in some respects from that philoso- 

 pher. But against sir Isaac Newton his scientific warfare was 

 principally directed. — He died in the year l^lO. 



