Philosophy is the oldest form of systematic, scholarly inquiry. The name comes from the Greek philosophos, "lover of wisdom." The term, however, has acquired several related meanings: (1) the study of the truths or principles underlying all knowledge, being, and reality; (2) a particular system of philosophical doctrine; (3) the critical evaluation of such fundamental doctrines; (4) the study of the principles of a particular branch of knowledge; (5) a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs; and (6) a …showed first 75 words of 4552 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4552 total…be understood either logically or in terms of natural science. A third great 17th-century rationalist was Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz. The basic unit of his metaphysics, equivalent to a substance, was the monad, a center of force or energy. Each monad was internally determined by its definition. Monads could not interact, but, due to a "preestablished harmony," the action in one monad coincided with that in another. God chose the monads in the world s