This is an abridgement of the complete translation of the New Essays, first published in 1981, designed for use as a study text. The work itself is an acknowledged philosophical classic, in which Leibniz argues point by point with Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. The result is the single most important confrontation between the philosophical traditions of rationalism and empiricism.

An extremely suitable focus for the study of Leibniz's thought and of the traditions of rationalism and empiricism in relation to one another.