J’ai fort medité autresfois sur cette matière: Philosophy and Money in Leibniz

Leibniz’s reflection on money must be situated within his wider philosophy in the sense that his own “system” constitutes its foundation. It is therefore helpful to approach his thought through the motto “theoria cum praxi,” which summarizes his theoretical views and allows a more suitable and effective way to introduce a “practical” topic such as money. In this chapter the topic of money in Leibniz’s thought is analyzed from two perspectives. First, money is understood as currency, in which case I highlight Leibniz’s interests in the field of numismatics, on the one hand, and the mining adventure in the Harz, on the other. Second, money can be used as an emblem of the general Leibnizian political-economic system, which takes the entire philosophical framework based on the combination of theory and praxis to its fullest extent.