ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of the systems concept in Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's thinking. The idea of a cognitive system can operate at two importantly distinguishable levels, namely at the level of concepts and at the level of propositions. Leibniz sought to implement the idea of a concept-system in the philosophical domain as well, and indeed assigned the system-concept a particularly prominent role in this sphere. The conception of a system has historically been applied both to things in the world and to bodies of knowledge. The idea of system operative in Leibniz's thought involves the interweaving of two inseparable threads: diversity on the one hand and economy on the other. Leibniz's philosophy, more than that of any other thinker, bristles with principles. For Leibniz, a system integrates multiplicity into unity: it combines a diversity of content under the accompanying aegis of linking principles.
