Still scarred by the ravages of war and politically disunited, Germany at the time of the young Leibniz was in danger of losing touch with philosophical and scientific developments elsewhere in Europe. In a letter written in August 1670 to the diplomat Johann Christian von Boineburg (1622–72) who since his reconciliation with Johann Philipp von Schönborn (1605–73) some two and a half years earlier was once more in the service of the Elector of Mainz, Henry Oldenburg (1618?–77) expresses his concerns over what he sees as the deplorable state of philosophy in the country of his birth:

Oldenburg's concerns were not without justification. The new, mechanistic world picture had, after all, found only few adherents, most notably Erhard Weigel (1625–99) in Jena, and the creation of a focal point of scientific activity such as the Royal Society in London or the Académie Royale des Sciences in Paris was still a long way off.