The Science of Right in Leibniz's Moral and Political Philosophy

Studies of Gottfried Leibnizs moral and political philosophy typically focus on metaphysical perfection, happiness, or love. In this new reading of Leibniz, Christopher Johns shows that it is based on a science of right. Based on the deontic concepts of jus (right) and obligation, this science of right is established in Leibnizs early writings on jurisprudence and depended on throughout several of his major late writings. Johns shows that the moral rightness of an action is grounded in the rights and obligations derived from the agents capacity for freedom. This new interpretation of Leibniz's moral philosophy compares Leibnizs positions with Grotius, Pufendorf, Hobbes, Locke, and Kant. Providing a comprehensive examination of Leibnizs most important writings on natural right, Johns argues that Leibniz, properly understood, provides a compelling account of the grounds of morality and of political institutionsan account relevant to present philosophical debates.