Godefridi Guilielmi Leibnitii Principia philosophiae, more geometrico demonstrata

With his Leibnitii Principia Philosophiae (1728), Michael Gottlieb Hansch (1683–1749) is the first philosopher to compile the incoherent texts of Leibniz’s metaphysics as well as the letters from their correspondence in a systematical and authentic way. The ‘theory of monads’, the ‘metaphysical optimism’, and the ‘prestabilized harmony’ are reconstructed and outlined without any Wolffian modifications. Hansch’s personal contribution to this compilation should not be underestimated: the text is not a mere reproduction of the Monadologie in Latin. It contains, inter alia, a list of Definitiones, which thoroughly explains the Leibnizian specialist terms. Not only is Hansch referring to Leibnizian and Wolffian texts to illustrate certain points, but he is also using sources from all periods of the history of philosophy. With this, Hansch’s Principia should be counted among the more significant documents on the impact the Leibnizian philosophy had in the 18th century.