Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnez was a renaissance man. He belonged to an era where multifaceted geniuses lived, men like Thomas Hobbes and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Leibnez earned his PhD in law at the ripe old age of 21 and continued in life as a librarian, historian, diplomat, mining engineer, and political adviser. When he died at the age of 70, he left behind 200,000 pages of handwritten notes which are expertly preserved in the Leibnez Archives in Hannover. Here are some of his legacies that affected different disciplines.
Mathematics
Leibnez was the one who invented the integral and differential calculus as well as interpreted the dual numbering system, which has become the basis of digital technology. He also invented a mechanical calculating machine.
Psychology
He was the one who first differentiated the conscious and the unconscious which he called perception and apperception. In a way, he started modern psychology through his belief that external factors greatly impacts the soul rather than the metaphysical factors.
Physics
A lot of scientists believe that even before Einstein came about his famous theory of relativity, Leibnez already anticipated it. His writings showed how his belief that all terms can be explained to simple atomic and nuclear concepts. This principle is not alien to modern physics as scientists seek to discover the smallest of all elementary particles.
Law
Leibnez was a man ahead of his times. In one of his many writings, he expressed his desire to unify all legal systems in the world. Thus, he is considered as the pioneer of international law which are embodied in institutions like the United Nations.
Scientific methods
He was the one who developed the method of empiric research based on evidence. Without him and the rest of the scholars during the age of enlightenment, the world will still be living in ignorance and superstition.
