《神正论》是莱布尼茨在世时发表的唯一一部大部头著作。本书名为谈神，实为谈人和人的自由。作者在“序言”中曾指出：“有两个著名的迷宫，常常使我们的理性误入歧途：其一关涉到自由与必然的大问题，这一迷宫首先出现在恶的产生和起源的问题中；其二在于连续性和看来是其要素的不可分的点的争论，这个问题牵涉到对于无限性的思考。第一个问题几乎困惑着整个人类，第二个问题则只是让哲学家们费心。”如果说莱布尼茨的其他著作主要阐述的是“单子论”或“连续性”与“不可分的点”关系问题，则本著着重阐述的则是“几乎困惑着整个人类”的“自由与必然的大问题”或“人的自由”问题。

Published shortly after his death in 1677, Ethics is undoubtedly Spinoza’s greatest work—a fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to provide a coherent picture of reality and to comprehend the meaning of an ethical life. Following a logical step-by-step format, it defines in turn the nature of God, the mind, human bondage to the emotions, and the power of understanding, moving from a consideration of the eternal to speculate upon humanity’s place in the natural order, freedom, and the path to attainable happiness. A powerful work of elegant simplicity, Ethics is a brilliantly insightful consideration of the possibility of redemption through intense thought and philosophical reflection.