Abstract

The essay studies the Chinese connections of Leibniz and the corresponding transformation of his philosophical ideas in terms of a two-phase relationship. Between 1667 and 1700/01, the author suggests, Leibniz was heavily influenced by the Jesuits' promulgation of China as a certain benevolent despotism compatible with both Christian charity and the rule of the Platonic philosopher-king. In contrast, the author argues, the development of Leibniz's ideas about organism between 1700/01 and 1716 was decisively inspired by the Chinese cosmic view of the world as a creative and self-creative process