Essays of Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil Quotes

Context

This line was written by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz in his book, Essays of Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil, in which he lays out his views on God, justice, and the general fairness of the universe.

Leibnitz ends up making this claim in 1710, after going through a long investigation on why evil exists in the world. Leibnitz believes in a God who is all-good and all-powerful. But how then do we explain the existence of so much evil and suffering? Well, Leibnitz gets around this by saying that we need a little evil in order for goodness to exist, or else everything would just be… well… nothing. He argues that God has put just the right amount of evil in the world to maximize the goodness in it.

If you feel a little skeptical about this brand of religious optimism, you're not the first.

Where you've heard it

One dude who wasn't a big fan of Leibnitz's "Best of all worlds" comment was the famous French playwright, Voltaire. In his 1759 play Candide, he skewers this "Best of all worlds" quote by showing a character whose life just keeps getting worse and worse until we have no choice but to give up on the idea that the world is good. Voltaire replaces Leibnitz's mantra with a new motto that basically says, "You gotta play the hand you're dealt."

Additional References:

• Kris Kristofferson, "The Best of All Possible Worlds"
• Karen Lord, The Best of All Possible Worlds

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

For a translated quote coming from four hundred years ago, this one is pretty straightforward. However, if you go out of your way to tell someone that you're quoting Leibniz, your pretentious factor might go up a few points. On top of that, you might also get some skeptics who turn and say to you, "Look around, friend. How is this possibly the best of all possible worlds?"