Gottfried Leibniz · Mathematics

The Universal Characteristic and the Calculus of Reason

Leibniz&rsquo;s most audacious dream: a universal symbolic language (the <em>characteristica universalis</em>) and a calculus of reasoning (the <em>calculus ratiocinator</em>) that would let all thought be carried out, and all disputes settled, by computation.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned Leibniz&rsquo;s twin projects: the characteristica universalis (a universal symbolic language of concepts) and the calculus ratiocinator (a mechanical calculus of inference). Explain the dream and how far it was eventually realised.

Leads to Frege.

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