Leibniz, Classical Theism, and the Problem of Evil: Why Classical Theism Must Affirm That Our World is the Best of All Possible Worlds (Routledge Studies in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy)

This volume offers a defense of Leibniz’s theodicy and his infamous claim that our world is the best of all possible worlds.It considers Leibniz’s rationale for “optimism,” examines its roots in ancient and medieval thought, and forwards a novel rereading of Leibniz’s theory of freedom in light of this background, all of which highlights the very real challenges of evading optimism from within the framework of classical theism. Gottfried Leibniz is known for his “theodicy,” or defense of God's Goodness, Wisdom, and Justice despite the realities of evil in our world.This book argues that Leibniz’s optimism is inevitable for proponents of classical theism and even for many not-so-classical theists.The author’s argument is threefold. First, he demonstrates that Leibniz's theodicy is deeply rooted in the classical theist tradition, pagan and Christian, and shows that the philosopher of Leipzig is merely following these commitments to their logical conclusion, a conclusion that long precede