LEIBNITZ, GOTTFRIED WILHELM.

Theodicee, das ist Versuch von der Güte Gottes, Freiheit des Menschen, und vom Ursprunge des Bösen, bey dieser vierten Ausgabe durchgehends verbessert auch mit versch.

Hannover und Leipzig, Verlag sel. Nicol. Försters und Sohns Erben, 1744.

8vo. In contemporary full calf with four raised bands. Wear to extremities. Scratches, with loss of leather, to boards and spine. Head of spine chipped. Ex-libris (Peter John Bruff) to verso of front board. Internally nice and clean. (24), 843, (53) pp. + 1 portrait and engraved folding plate of the calculating machine.

First Gottsched edition of Leibniz’s Théodicée (originally published in 1710), his most important philosophical work and the only major philosophical book he published himself. The work deals with the goodness of God, human freedom, and the causes of evil in the world, with the central focus on the problem of liberty and free will. The Théodicée was written in response to the skeptical philosopher Pierre Bayle, who had argued in his Dictionnaire historique et critique that the problem of evil admitted no rational solution. This Gottsched edition became the standard German text and is expanded with important additions.

Order-nr.: 62932