Talk:Characteristica universalis
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[edit] De Arte Combinatoria
There should be a mention to Leibniz's first ideas on this topic, as exposed in De Arte Combinatoria. I may do this when I have the time. Also any other wikipedian might do it... Javirl 16:41, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Leibniz's error
I have edited out the following comments on the account that the notion of an error by Leibniz, and the notion of "an architectonic structure for human knowledge" is not previously mentioned as part of the Characteristica Universalis in the article, or in Leibniz's writings, but also there is no evidence given for this claim. If evidence can be given then it should be reinstated in the main article. Sholto Maud 04:20, 29 January 2006 (UTC).
"This error may have been a consequence of his belief that human thought could be reduced to a few independent simple concepts (Loemker 1969: 227, fn 6), perhaps akin to the "atoms" of chemistry. Moreover, we are no closer to an architectonic structure for human knowledge and abstract systems than Leibniz was."
- I have forgotten where I inserted the passage to which you object. Hence I cannot comment on how it fits in with any wider point I sought to make. I wrote "error" to avoid employing Loemker's much stronger word "delusion." For a man as kind as Loemker was to employ the word "delusion" was to make a very strong statement indeed. As for my last sentence, the point it makes strikes me as utterly obvious. Believe me, it is remarkable how little people employed in different university departments have in common. That Leibniz also intended his characteristica and the like to serve and advance an architectonic structure of human knowledge also strikes me as obvious. That Leibniz could be capable of error also requires no discussion, and is amply attested to by many footnotes in, e.g., Loemker.202.36.179.65 19:45, 2 February 2006 (UTC)
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- That Leibniz also intended his characteristica and the like to serve and advance an architectonic structure of human knowledge is obvious to me too, but I have not seen mention of this in Leibniz's work...I may not have looked hard enough...(I am hesitant about saying anything about the "architectonic" content of Leibniz's works because this is precisely how historians have labelled H.T.Odum's works). This article is getting good, tight citations, so I thought one should follow this trend. Sholto Maud 01:23, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Gödels Conpiracy Theory
The last sentence is "Even now, most of this huge Nachlass remains unpublished." I honestly believe that sentence does support Gödels conspiracy claims, doesn't it ? Why was is not published ? Does this also mean that Gödel only studied the miniscule fraction of published texts ? This should be a) looked at properly, Gödel was a bright man, perhaps he was on to something b) the sentence should be changed in some way as to show the discrepancy.--83.189.52.169 01:01, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
What is the source of these assertions? Hao Wang's books say that Godel thought there was a conspiracy to hide Leibniz's ideas (and described him trying to prove it to Oscar Morgenstern), but I have never seen information this specific and would very much like to know where it originated. --137.144.147.107 20:20, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Also have a look at Dawson Jr., J.W., 1997. Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Gödel. Wellesley, Massachusetts. Sholto Maud 04:26, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Work so far
To all who have thus far contributed and continue to take an interest, even though there is more to be done, I think it can be said that we have done some good collaborative work in expounding this aspect of Leibniz's philosophy. Well done. :) Sholto Maud 06:37, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Re: Recent projects
Maybe it would be good to class these into different aspects of Leibniz's approach to spirituatlity, logic, systematic philosophy, physics, etc. This might also clarify further whether the article needs main sections on how the characteristica is related to such aspects, to spell out more clearly how the characteristica was related to Leibniz's metaphysics, religious views and the like. Sholto Maud 10:30, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
