New Essays on Human Understanding (French: Nouveaux essais sur l'entendement humain) is a chapter-by-chapter rebuttal by Gottfried Leibniz of John Locke's major work An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689).
It was finished in 1704, but Locke's death was the cause alleged by Leibniz to withhold its publication.
Like many philosophical works of the time, it is written in dialogue form.
The two speakers in the book are Theophilus ("lover of God" in Greek),[2] who represents the views of Leibniz, and Philalethes ("lover of truth" in Greek),[3] who represents those of Locke.
[5] In addition to his discussion of innate ideas, Leibniz offers penetrating criticisms of Locke's views on personal identity, free will, mind-body dualism, language, necessary truth, and Locke's attempted proof of the existence of God.