Meyer 1 Josh Meyer Mr.

Olson Pre Calculus 21 May 2013 Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz Throughout the centuries, math has impacted the lives of many people and even though we may not realize it, we are using math all the time. Many famous mathematicians are credited with discovering different forms of math, such as Geometry, Algebra and Calculus. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German philosopher and mathematician was a co-founder of the differential and integral Calculus still used today. Leibniz's childhood had a major impact on his philosophy and mathematics. Gottfried Wilhelm was born July 1st, 1646 in Leipzig, Saxony. He was born into a semi-noble, academic family; his grandfather was a professor, as well as his father (Macgill 123). When Leibniz was six years old, his father died, which had a major impact on his childhood. Because after his father's death, he spent many hours in his father's library teaching himself Latin and reading other philosophical books (Pattanayak). Leibniz entered the Nicolai School in Leipzig at age 5. By the age of twelve, Leibniz had fully taught himself Greek and Latin. As he moved through school, Leibniz was taught Aristotles logic and theory of categorizing knowledge. Leibniz wasnt satisfied with this system and began to think up his own ideas on how to improve it (O'Connor). When Leibniz was a young adult, he started thinking of constructing an alphabet of human thought, which could generate a universal, logically precise language (Mastin) By the age of fourteen, Leibniz was accepted at the University of Leipzig. He studied both philosophy and mathematics. While in

Meyer 2 Leipzig, Leibniz was heavily influenced by Erhard Weigel, a mathematician and philosopher. Leibniz later went to Jena to study for one semester with Weigel. He graduated with a bachelors degree in 1663, and after his graduation, Leibniz worked on his habilitation in philosophy. He then went on to finish his doctorate in law at the University of Altdorf in 1666 (Magill 126). He was offered professorship at Altdorf but declined and became a secretary of the Rosicrucian Society. Later Johann Philipp von Schnburg employed him as a legal counsel. Then in the spring of 1672, Leibniz was hired as a diplomatic correspondent to the Count of Mainz, who was at this time in Paris. (Pattanayak) Many famous mathematicians come from differing time periods and different locations all over the world, which have affected their discoveries in math, science and philosophy. Leibniz was alive during the late 1600s and early 1700s. (Magill 126) This time period was the end of the Renaissance Era and beginning of the Early Modern Period also known as the Age of Discovery. (Mastin) Knowledge and learning during this time was rapidly expanding, for almost every child went to school and attended University at this time. It was a glorious age for mathematics, science, history, and philosophy. Leibniz fell right into the middle of all this. Because of the time he was living in, he was well educated and was equipped with everything he needed to expand his thinking and think out of the box. (Mastin) There were also many famous mathematicians during his time, that impacted him in different ways. The most well known of these mathematicians is Sir Isaac Newton, a rival of Leibniz and the Bernoulli brothers, who were strong encouragers of Leibniz. Newton and Leibniz are often spoken of together, since it has been settled that they co-founded the differential and integral Calculus. (Shelton) Newton was the head of the Royal Society in London, and Leibniz was also a member of this society, causing them

Meyer 3 interact with each other quite often despite their dislike for each other. A common misconception of mathematicians is that their only occupation is in mathematics. In fact, many of the most famous mathematicians were also philosophers and scientists as well. Although Leibniz was not a scientist he had a doctorate in law, was a mathematician and also was a philosopher. (Pattanayak) His major publications were Dissertatio de arte combinatoria in 1666 (which means Dissertation on the combinatorial art), and his publication of differential and integral calculus in 1684 (O'Connor). In Dissertatio de arte combinatoria, Leibniz attempted to bring all ideas to a combination of basics such as letters, sounds, and colors (O'Connor). Although Leibniz was the first to publish his findings in calculus, Isaac Newton claimed that he had discovered calculus years before yet had not published his works. The Royal Society was asked to hold a debate to decide which of the two truly came up with calculus. They gave credit to Isaac Newton for the first discovery of calculus, and credit to Leibniz for the first publication of calculus (Shelton). Newton was not satisfied with this, and held another debate to decide if Leibniz had plagiarized his work or not. Because Newton was the president of the Royal Society, he won the debate, and claimed Leibniz had stolen his work. (Mastin) We know this now to be false, for Leibniz came up with his own calculus completely independent of Newton. (Magill 126) Leibniz never fully recovered from this accusation, but ironically his notations and way of writing calculus are still used today over Newtons more clumsy methods and notations. Later, Leibniz also rediscovered a method of arranging linear equations into an array, known as a matrix. In this way, Leibniz paved the road for work on matrices and linear algebra by Carl Friedrich Gauss. (Pattanayak) Leibniz may have not been recognized by the Royal Society, but many of the other philosophers and mathematicians at that time respected his work.

Meyer 4 Leibniz's math has had a large impact on many people over the ages, and students today still learn his work of calculus and matrices today. Even though Leibniz suffered a crushing defeat and humiliation at the hands of Isaac Newton, he is still respected as one of the greatest mathematicians, philosophers and lawyers of his time. His legacy and vast knowledge will not be forgotten.

Meyer 5 Works Cited Magill, Frank N. "Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz." The Great Scientists. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 1989. 123-30. Print. Mastin, Luke. "17th Century Mathematics- Leibniz." The Story of Mathematics. N.p., 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. O'Connor, J. J., and E. F. Robertson. "Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz." Leibniz Biography. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Oct. 1998. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. Pattanayak, Ari. "The Mathematical Leibniz." Rutgers Department of Mathmatics. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. Shelton, Kristen. "Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz." Leibniz. Department of Mathematics, Wichita, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.