Theodicy

E92349

book philosophical work theological work

Theodicy is a philosophical and theological work by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz that attempts to reconcile the existence of evil with an all-powerful, all-good God by arguing that we live in the best of all possible worlds.

Aliases (1)

Essays on Theodicy ×1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	book → philosophical work → theological work →
addresses	compatibility of divine foreknowledge and human freedom → nature of God’s will → origin of evil →
aim	to reconcile the existence of evil with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God →
author	Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz →
countryOfOrigin	Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg →
criticizedBy	Voltaire →
genre	apologetics → religious philosophy →
influenced	Enlightenment philosophy → philosophy of religion → subsequent theodicy debates →
influencedBy	Augustine of Hippo → Christian theology → Scholastic philosophy → Thomas Aquinas →
keyConcept	freedom and necessity → possible worlds → pre-established harmony → sufficient reason →
language	French →
mainTopic	divine goodness → divine justice → divine omnipotence → free will → problem of evil → theodicy →
notableThesis	God permits evil for greater goods → metaphysical evil is inherent in created, finite beings → moral evil results from human free will → physical evil can serve as a means to greater harmony → this is the best of all possible worlds →
originalTitle	Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l’homme et l’origine du mal →
philosophicalDiscipline	ethics → metaphysics → philosophy of religion →
philosophicalTradition	early modern philosophy → rationalism →
publicationYear	1710 →
relatedWork	Candide →
religiousContext	Christianity → Lutheranism →
structure	appendices → preface → three main parts →

Referenced by (4)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz → Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz ("Essays on Theodicy") →	notableWork
Monadology →	relatedWork
Discourse on Metaphysics →	relatedWorkByAuthor