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EIBNIZ' PROJECTS FOR ACADEMIES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN SCIENCE, POLITICS AND PUBLIC WELFARE
Leibniz wrote more than 60 proposals, concepts, and outlines for academies for Holland, Germany, Austria and Russia. Unlike the academies in Paris, London or Rome he intended a narrow connection of theoria and praxis. This should be achieved by his Scientia generalis as a theoretical unification, whereas the aim consisted in a universal Harmony.
Key words: Leibniz, Academy, Scientia generalis, rational government, harmony.
1. The aims
Throughout his lifetime, Leibniz has written more than 60 proposals, concepts, and outlines for scientific societies or academies for Germany, Austria and Russia, for kingdoms as Prussia and Saxony and for smaller regions - and also a pan-European one situated in Holland, the most liberal and tolerant country in Leibniz's time and visited by Peter the Great. For financial reasons, the completely elaborated plans for Vienna and for Dresden had been canceled; only one of them has been realized, namely the Prussian one in Berlin, whereas Russia followed Leibniz' plans some years later.
All these proposals have several elements in common, which were unique in Europe in comparison to Paris (Académie des Sciences) or London (Royal Academy), namely
to make not only scientific investigations, but also technological inventions;
to organize an exchange of scientific and technological knowledge between different regions (including an exchange between China and the west) - which presupposes at best academies, but at least the development of elaborated national languages, since otherwise it would not be possible to describe adequately what craftsmen are doing;
to collect all this knowledge in libraries in specialized dictionaries;
to combine theoria cum praxi, which means that the task of the academy consists not only in pure scientific research, but in the application of scientific knowledge in order to increase the social welfare;
to be responsible for those practical purposes, which need a scientific understanding and foundation, as e.g. life- and fire insurances, the writing of text books for the schools, the censorship for books (not for political reasons but to avoid false and senseless books), the organization of new industries.
Hans Poser - Prof. Dr., Institut für Philosophie, Technische Universität Berlin/Germany. E-mail: hans.poser@tu-berlin.de.
132 Case-studies - Science studies
This list shows already that Leibniz had something in mind, which could not have been a task of the very old-fashioned universities in Europe at that time, since they did not really pick up the new problems and possibilities: There has been nearly no empirical research and absolutely no place for technology. The task of universities consisted in educating students in theology, law, and medicine. The academies, on the other side, should not only enlarge knowledge - they should function as a kind of trade center for knowledge, a good that, as Leibniz writes, is "nearly inexhaustible".1
For Leibniz, all the responsibilities, ranging from theoria to praxis, from collecting and enlarging knowledge up to organizing new factories, aim at the bonum commune, at the a common welfare. They all presuppose knowledge and are connected so to say like parts of a complex machine in such a way that the machine can work appropriately only if all parts are given and cooperating. Let us therefore have a look at some of these parts and their connection.
The practical and political aspects just mentioned demand a scientific organization among the scientists. 'Science' and 'scientist' has to be taken here in the broad sense as in the German term 'Wissenschaft', which includes humanities as well as literature, law and theology; this follows on the one side from Leibniz's remark that the academy should be responsible to "improve literature" (A IV.1, 539); on the other side from the fact that theologians and lawyers became members of the Berlin Academy. In fact, it had been an important innovation to include not only sciences in the narrow sense, but engineering on the one side and humanities on the other. Leibniz mentions the disciplines, which he intends to include at the Prussian Academy, in a memorandum, namely mathematics, physics (including astronomy and geography), mechanical arts (including architecture, military and nautical machines, mills of different kind and so on), chemistry (including mining), biology (including anatomy and agriculture) (Denkschrift II, march 1700; Brather: 76); two pages later, 3 Leibniz adds two further tasks: (1) The possibility of a Protestant mission W in China, and to support it he gives a hint to the collection of Sinica in ® Berlin as a starting point. (2) Following the Elector, Leibniz includes as a further content the encouragement of German language - something,
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which he himself had postulated just two or three years ago in his plea for (£ language societies to cultivate German language, since language is "a clear I mirror of the mind"; or the other way round, only if the language is rich and precise, thinking can be subtle and exact.2. Therefore, Leibniz proposed to
1 Grundriß eines Bedenckens von aufrichtung einer Societät in Teutschland (1671) (fi (AIV.1, 538). ^
2 Leibniz emphasizes this in his Ermahnung an die Teutsche, ihren verstand und sprache (0 beßer zu üben, sammt beygefügten vorschlag einer Teutsch-gesinten gesellschafft (A IV.3, Wl 795-829) and in his Unvorgreiffliche Gedancken, betreffend die Ausübung und Verbesserung (•) der Teutschen Sprache (A IV.6, 528-565).
collect the material for several specialized dictionaries; as we will see, this corresponds to the tasks of libraries.
2. The Scientia generalis as the theoretical model of an academy
All this, and especially the list of disciplines of the academy, has its counterpart in Leibniz' ideas of a Scientia generalis as a theoretical unification comparable to the plan of a Unified Science in Logical Positivism (but in the case of Leibniz based on guiding ideas from the rationalistic tradition). He clearly saw that the availability of adequate members for academies depends on what you might call the intellectual market, so that not all branches of sciences might be present; however, in describing the tasks Leibniz follows the structure given in his plans for a Scientia generalis. Therefore Heinrich Schepers has good reasons in saying that Leibniz did never publish the huge amount of his elaborated and in fact finished manuscripts on topics of this new science, because he probably intended to do so, when an adequate academy would be at hand (see A VI.4, Introduction): In such a case, the publication would immediately demonstrate the fruitfulness of both, of the new science as well as of the academy, even if there would be no specialists available as members of the academy, even though there would be no adequate candidates as members of the academy for some of the disciplines.
Let us therefore have a look at this kind of systematic order of sciences. Leibniz develops schemes of definitions of disciplines in a systematic order, beginning with logics and combinatorics, and adding step by step the special conditions of each field of knowledge (e.g. C 524). Moreover, in his O Guilielmi Pacidii PLUS ULTRA, the subtitle indicates "the beginning and first steps of the Scientia generalis to install and to enrich sciences, to ^ promote the mind and the things by inventions for the public felicity".3 O Here, Leibniz gives such a list under the heading "Oeconomia operis" in
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the sense of "What to do". This indicates that he does not think of a mere
3 concept formation, but of something to be realized. The notes range from
W introductory remarks on the reasons of the author, namely to enlarge
"human felicity" (hominum felicitas), via "rational language and grammar"
Q) (lingua et grammatica rationalis) to mathematics, physics, mechanics,
"O astronomy and geology to medicine, law, politics, social structures
3 (oeconomia) and finally to "natural theology" (theologia naturalis, which at
^ that time meant 'purely rational theology' and especially 'rational ethics'), V
w 3 Guilielmi Pacidii PLUS ULTRA sive initia et specimina SCIENTIAE GENERALIS de
(•) instauratione et augmentis scientiarum, ac de perficienda mente, rernmque inventionibus ad publicam felicitatem (A VI.4, 674).
ending up with Christian faith. But what is important for my view how to connect the academy and the Scientia generalis is the following point: The list ends up with "De societate Theophilorum", which literally translated means: "On the society of friends of God"; but remember, that Leibniz in many of his dialogues develops his own ideas by someone named 'Theophile' as e.g. in his Theodicy (A VI.4, 674-677; see also 677-686, where authors and books are listed for this purpose). Therefore this society clearly means an academy, representing the Scientia generalis, since Leibniz is convinced that science and natural theology open the way not only to felicity, but to Christian faith. This has been the reason why he always supported the Jesuit's activity in China, based on a "propagatio fidei per scientias" (mediation of faith via sciences). This shows that academy and Scientia generalis have to be taken as the two sides of the same medal.
There is a further aspect, which is important here. Due to Leibniz, the Scientia generalis is much more than an order of well founded knowledge -it includes the two branches of Ars iudicandi (art of demonstrating) and Ars inveniendi (art of inventing). These both arts describe what to do in the academy, since the ars iudicandi has the task of demonstration, which is the theoria-part of the academy research, whereas the ars inveniendi is concerned with the way from theoria to praxis. No wonder than, that Leibniz emphatically describes this way in an essay, which the Academy-Edition has named Recommendation to install the universal science (A VI.4, 692-713). He explains why to possess a theory is much more fertile than to have only a praxis, which, from its very essence, depends on special cases, and consequently can only be useful in these special cases. Therefore, "even a blind theory will be incomparably better than a blind praxis without theory", because one who only follows his practical experience will immediately get into troubles, which he cannot solve, if the situation differs only somehow from the earlier cases (A VI.4, 712). This corresponds to all the arguments, which Leibniz uses in order to q describe the "merry wedding" between theory and praxis in his academy projects (A IV, 538). ®
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3. The Library as a treasure house of wisdom w
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as a practical model of an academy 5
Leibniz had been the librarian of the Duce's library at Hanover as well
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as at Wolfenbuttel. For him, libraries were the treasure house of sciences - ¡2
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not only to keep knowledge and not forget it, but also to make this (J) knowledge accessible to everyone.
Libraries need a systematic order of books; otherwise it would be senseless to bring the knowledge together. To establish it is a task of the sciences themselves, so that the order, which constitutes the Scientia generalis, has to be mirrored not only in the academy, but also in its library. In many writings, Leibniz deals with these problems. A small list tries to follow the order of the old university faculties (A IV.5,596-598); and after very detailed systematization of theology and law, he offers a broad systematization for a whole library in three versions, probably for Wolfenbuttel (A IV.5, 627-656). Furthermore, Leibniz introduced new kinds of catalogues; and in Wolfenbuttel he erected the first library building of modern times, a building of which one might say 'form follows function', as far as we can conclude from the scanty documents we own.
Now, libraries need books. Beneath the systematic way of collecting and presenting books in libraries, Leibniz always made proposals concerning the whole book market, from authors via printer, publisher, bookseller up to censorship, which he saw as something for which academies should be responsible. How can that be - a man always thinking of tolerance wants to control what people are reading? The answer is: Leibniz, at the beginning of enlightenment, is convinced that reason and reflection are indispensable tools. Books had been very expensive at that time, so there has been an economic reason. Yet much more, Leibniz fears that most of the people of his time are not sufficiently educated to be able to see whether a book tells nothing but senseless stories instead of well grounded knowledge and to decide, whether it is well done or full of false opinions. So, it is not political indoctrination, as it has been the case under dictatorships in the last century, against which Leibniz intends to fight, but against irrationality. By the way, today we seemingly have the same problem concerning internet - but internet is cheap, and people are much more educated and learned now, so that they can decide themselves of what to make use...
Leibniz reflects also on those books, which should be written in order to make the knowledge accessible via the library. As already mentioned, he (D expressed the idea that the academy should develop specialized dictionaries, which collect the knowledge of different areas. It is 0) remarkable that Diderot in his Prospect of his Encyclopedia several times O emphasizes that he wants to make a Leibnizian idea real. In fact, each academy project picks up what Leibniz explicitly has called an "Encyclopaedia". The title of one of Leibniz' papers reads De usu Artis Combinatoriae praestantissimo qui est scribere Encyclopaediam (How to use combinatorics in the best way to write an encyclopedia), and he adds an "Atlas universalis" as an order of the content in question (A VI.4.84-90. ^ See also p. 161). Somewhat later, he brings it together as "Praecognita ad jg Encyclopaediam sive Scientiam universalem" (Preliminary reflections (J) concerning an Encyclopedia or Universal science), which, as the editors of the Academy-Edition point out, aims at sapientia as "scientia felicitatis"
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(science of happiness) by means of the newly elaborated scientific methods (A VI.4.133-140).
All this is in parallel to the Scientia generalis, for Leibniz tries to list the topics of these encyclopedic projects, namely authors and their relevant books,4 in a similar way as he tries to organize the different scientific disciplines of the Scientia generalis, which are present in academies so to say in the working order.
4. Academies as an instrument of rational government
Even most academies of today are not responsible for the wide area of problems mentioned at the beginning, for Leibniz lists undertakings, which normally belong to ministries. This means that his plans for academies contain elements how to impose a rational structure to the state and its government. This is indeed the background of the Leibnizian proposal for the Russian Academy, which Czar Peter the Great founded some years after Leibniz' death. It is worth mentioning this, since two centuries later this conception formed the background for the Soviet Academy: it was indeed a kind of ministry; the professors there had in principle (not really in fact) rights and obligations comparable to high ranking functionaries. It had been this model, which influenced the Chinese Academy of Science. But one must confess that the Soviet transformation was quite the opposite of what Leibniz intended: He wanted to overcome prejudgments and to install a rational government, whereas Stalin intended to use the institution to govern science and to submit it to his advices. These short remarks may indicate that Leibniz' plans have to be seen not only as an institution how to "j) assemble and to enlarge knowledge, but at the same time an instrument of power in a much more direct sense than F. Bacon's "Knowledge is power" - but due to Leibniz as a power of reason.
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To collect and to exchange knowledge is a significant Baconian q
element of great importance in economy and in politics. Leibniz is J
convinced, that "from China, great things can be learned" by an exchange "y
of knowledge.5 In this connection, he always emphasizes the enormous (0
amount of empirical data, which Chinese scientists have brought together I
throughout centuries, whereas the theoretical capacity is better in Europe;6 jp
4 See Encyclopaedia ex sequentibus autoribus, propriisque meditationibus delineata (A 3 VI.4,257). UJ
5 Bedencken, wie bey der neuen Königl. Societät der Wissenschafftten [...] Propagatio q fidei per Scientias förderlichst zu veranstalten. Erster Entwurf, Berlin, November 1701 (Q (Klopp X,p. 355). (B
6 Letter to Grimaldi, 19 July 1689 (Widmaier, p. 3; Grimaldi's answer see Novissima (®) Sinica, A IV.6, 443).
thinking of theoria cum praxi, to bring both sides together would cause as a consequence an admirable progress on both sides.
In this framework it is remarkable that Leibniz did not so much think of isolated academies, but of a whole network. Discussing Eberhard Weigel's proposals for a Collegium of the German Emperor, Leibniz takes it as a proposal for an academy. He writes that beneath such an institution the Emperor should think of parallel institutions in different German countries. Quoting from Weigel, he expresses that all these Collegia should deal with questions concerning "health, food, police, commerce, architecture, monetary system, manufacturing and industries, as well as regulations for fire-, water-, forestry- and tax-systems, in summa everything which needs a universal treatment, concerning [mechanical] arts as well as nature"; and Leibniz goes on: These activities shall be of such kind, that "ministries, juridical courts, those responsible in financial affairs, further on engineers, mining officers, architects, mint-masters and others could get advice, so that they follow orders of their sovereigns, which means that the health collegium, the administration office and e.g. the collegia for architecture, mining, navigation, and others would be brought together".7 Leibniz goes on, these regional academies should co-operate in the whole empire so that without acting against each other everything is done in the best way for the whole country. So we might add that in fact the network of these academies would be the most powerful ministries of the country, responsible for all tasks of science, economy, and culture (See Totok 1966: 303). Remembering the young Leibniz's plans of a world academy, his ideas include the hope for rational and peaceful governments all over the world -not in the sense of a super-government, but as a balance within this network. Concerning Russia, Leibniz repeats and extends his plans, which we observed in reaction to Weigel, and sketches a whole system of collegia (Guerrier, II: 364f; see also 181, 218, 219f).
J 5. Seeking for harmony as the metaphysical goal
£ of an academy
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(O To regulate everything in the best way is the aim behind the academy
I institution. For Leibniz, the knowledge and the technologies developed at
U the academy, have the practical purpose to increase welfare of the country.
Leibniz repeats this in many cases: Academies will warrant a better life for
3 all inhabitants of the country.
W Thinking of the mercantilist order of business in Leibniz' times, this is
® an important reason. But this is no aim in itself - it is a means for a much IB
(®) 7 Über einige von Eberhard Weigel vor dem Reichstag zu Regensburg gebrachte
Vorschläge (1697), (A IV.7, 745).
more universal one. As already quoted, Leibniz speaks of the "bonum commune" as well as of the happiness of humans. This is by no means restricted to welfare in the sense of good life conditions - it is meant as a long lasting state of felicity as a last aim, which is independent from affects at the moment. Furthermore, like Socrates, Leibniz is convinced, that to act morally is a question of knowledge. His argument runs as follows: Moral necessity "demands to follow the rules of the perfect wisdom."8 An "obligation is what is necessary to do for a good human",9 since "Each prudent is a good human."10 Therefore, this is "an obligation of reason, which always has its effect on the wise", since these are always "good reasons", as Leibniz says,11 namely depending on the Principle of the best.12 Now, if I know that an intended act does not really increase happiness not only for me, but for everyone, I would immediately change my intention. This means that an enlargement of knowledge will immediately increase morality in the society. Consequently, to collect knowledge, to enrich it and to distribute it is a moral task of the academy. In one of the plans written for Czar Peter, we read: "The true end of all studies is the human felicity, which means a constant happiness, as far as feasible for humans, so that people do not live in idleness, [...] but act in accordance with the common welfare".13 Universally speaking, it is the education of mankind, which has to be the center of the academy.
Leibniz' concept of a Harmonia maxima rerum, the universal harmony of whatsoever, includes the human obligation to enlarge the harmony in the world not only by means of better life conditions but also and in its first place by increasing tolerance and harmony among human beings in spreading out this kind of reasonable Christianity which, due to Leibniz, is based on science and reason alone, so that it can be accepted e.g. in China. No wonder, than, that Joachim Bouvet, a Jesuit missionary in China, acquainted with the French Academy and impressed by Leibniz' ideas, intended to establish an academy in China (see Collani 1989). And no ^ wonder that Peter the Great, inspired by Leibniz whom he met several W times founded the Russian Academy as Петербургская Академия наук Jj in 1724.
8
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. une nécessité morale; et c'est tousjours une heureuse nécessité, d'être obligé d'agir ^
suivant les regies de la parfaite sagesse. (Theodicy III § 344; GP VI.319). |
9 Aequum, Debitum est quicquid necessarium est fieri a viro bono. (A VI.1, 465). ^
10Omnis prudens est vir bonus. (A VI.4,2758). Seep. 2759, where Leibniz gives a further Ô)
analysis, which he has withdrawn. ^
11 la necessité morale porte une obligation de raison, qui a tousjours son effect dans le 3 sage. Cette espece de necessité est heureuse et souhaitable, lorsqu'on est porté par de bonnes ^J raisons à agir comme l'on fait (Reflexions sur l'ouvrage que M. Hobbes a publié en Anglois, de la Liberté, de la Necessité et du Hazard, § 3; GP VI.390).
12 la necessité morale, qui oblige le plus sage à choisir le meilleur (Theodicy III § 367; GP (B VI.333). (S)
13 Concept einer Denkschrift für den Czaaren Peter, Dec. 1708 (Foucher VII, 468).
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References
Brather, H.-St. (ed.): Leibniz und seine Akademie. Ausgewählte Quellen zur Geschichte der Berliner Sozietät der Wissenschaften 1697-1716, Berlin : Akademie Verlag 1993.
Collani, Claudia von (ed.): Eine wissenschaftliche Akademie für China (= Studia Leibnitiana, Sonderheft 18), Stuttgart 1989.
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, quoted as follows:
A = Leibniz, Sämtliche Schriften und Briefe (Akademie-Edition), Reihe IV and VI, Berlin 1923ff.
C = Opuscules et fragments inédits de Leibniz, éd. L. Couturat, Paris 1903 (reprinted: Hildesheim 1971).
GP = Die philosophischen Schriften von Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, ed.. C.I. Gerhardt, 7 vols, Berlin 1875-1890 (reprinted: Hildesheim 1978).
Foucher = Œuvres de Leibniz, publiées pour la première fois d'après les manuscrits originaux, éd. par A. Foucher de Careil, 7 vols, Paris 1859-1875. Vol. 7: Leibniz et les académies. Leibniz et Pierre le Grand.
Guerrier = Guerrier, Woldemar: Leibniz und seine Beziehung zu Russland und Peter dem Großen. Eine geschichtliche Darstellung dieses Verhältnisses nebst den darauf bezüglichen Briefen und Denkschriften, 2 vols, St. Petersburg 1873 (reprinted Hildesheim 1975).
Klopp = Die Werke von Leibniz, ed. O. Klopp, 11 vol., Hannover 1864-1884.
Widmaier = Leibniz korrespondiert mit China, ed. R. Widmaier, Frankfurt a.M. 1990.
Totok, Wilhelm: Leibniz als Wissenschaftsorganisator, in: W. Totok, C. Haase (eds.): Leibniz. Sein Leben, sein Wirken, seine Welt, Hannover 1966.
