Abstract:
The sole purpose of this Honors Thesis is to bring together in one source a great deal of material concerning the life and works of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Being a mathematics majorand a philosophy minor at Ball State University, I was well acquainted with the accomplishments, and there are many, of the man in both of these fields. When comparing these two fields, however, I discovered something that seemed rather odd. Anyone associated with the philosophy department was acquainted to some extent with the works of Leibniz in the field; but in the mathematics department the reverse seemed to hold. It appeared that very few, if any at all, mathematics students realized the great contributions of Leibniz to the student's own field. This Thesis, then, is written in such a way as to delve into as many facets that this may in some way and at some time aid a student in the furthering of his knowledge concerning one of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers of all time.
