{"product_id":"divine-machines-leibniz-and-the-sciences-of-life-9780691141787","title":"Divine Machines: Leibniz and the Sciences of Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eThough it did not yet exist as a discrete field of scientific inquiry, biology was at the heart of many of the most important debates in seventeenth-century philosophy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the work of G. W. Leibniz. In \u003ci\u003eDivine Machines\u003c\/i\u003e, Justin Smith offers the first in-depth examination of Leibniz's deep and complex engagement with the empirical life sciences of his day, in areas as diverse as medicine, physiology, taxonomy, generation theory, and paleontology. He shows how these wide-ranging pursuits were not only central to Leibniz's philosophical interests, but often provided the insights that led to some of his best-known philosophical doctrines. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Presenting the clearest picture yet of the scope of Leibniz's theoretical interest in the life sciences, \u003ci\u003eDivine Machines\u003c\/i\u003e takes seriously the philosopher's own repeated claims that the world must be understood in fundamentally biological terms. Here Smith reveals a thinker who was immersed in the sciences of life, and looked to the living world for answers to vexing metaphysical problems. He casts Leibniz's philosophy in an entirely new light, demonstrating how it radically departed from the prevailing models of mechanical philosophy and had an enduring influence on the history and development of the life sciences. Along the way, Smith provides a fascinating glimpse into early modern debates about the nature and origins of organic life, and into how philosophers such as Leibniz engaged with the scientific dilemmas of their era.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustin E. H. Smith\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of philosophy at Concordia University in Montreal. He is the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Problem of Animal Generation in Early Modern Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50844944826642,"sku":"9780691141787","price":80.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e67bfbb5-8425-455c-9273-2dab14ba0bbe.jpg?v=1737337161","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/divine-machines-leibniz-and-the-sciences-of-life-9780691141787","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}