(Broadcast Views), Edward Rothstein, Herbert Muschamp, and Martin E. Marty. Omissions? But he did create a world, the existing one, which therefore must be the best possible. This expression of blind optimism occurs in Voltaire’s, (41) We seem very close to Arthur Schopenhauer's assessment of Leibniz's position: "Even though Leibniz's contention, that this is the, God embodies monads because this contributes to the, Using a hydrolysate with carbohydrate ensures the, And this, so capitalism's massed apologists advise us, is exactly as it should be in the, We had long presumed that German "guest workers" in the German-speaking cantons enjoy the, Voltaire's Candide is a riposte to the absolute logical determinism inherent in the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, which asserts that the divine will is inexorably determined and must necessarily create the, Gary Wills, the prophet, calmly surveys the ruin of our society, its broken marriages, its murderous assault on the unborn, its confusion, its grief, and pronounces it the, "When researchers and teachers work collaboratively, it's the, The voice of its defenders is not that of the responsible bookkeeper, but that of the propagandist or salesman, who says that the net gain is more than 100 percent--that the thing we have bought has perfectly replaced everything it has cost, and added a great deal more: "You just can't lose!" (Book Review), Winning at reading: a North Carolina elementary school is beating the odds, thanks to a special partnership between teachers and reading researchers, Dubious assumptions: ABC News and CNN are hardly a match made in heaven. Although ‘possible world’ has been part of the philosophical lexicon at least since Leibniz, the notion became firmly entrenched in contemporary philosophy with the development of possible world semantics for the languages of propositional and first-order modal logic. 1. the best all possible worlds synonyms, the best all possible worlds pronunciation, the best all possible worlds translation, English dictionary definition of the best all possible worlds. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Define the best all possible worlds. Comments on the best of all (possible) worlds. 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'. Furthermore, it could be that the existing world, despite the evident evil in it, is actually the best possible according to a divine standard of goodness that differs from ordinary conceptions of that notion. the best/greatest thing since sliced bread. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. How to use the best of all (possible) worlds in a sentence. Corrections? Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Leibniz' solution casts God as a kind of "optimizer" of the collection of all original possibilities: Since he is good and omnipotent, and since he chose this world out of all possibilities, this world must be good—in fact, this world is the best of all possible worlds. 'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'? This 1976 production by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation imagines how Voltaire might discuss both his own book, … claimed, this is the “best of all possible worlds.” The other approach is to attempt a more limited “defense,” which does not aim to explain God’s purposes but merely to show that the existence of at least some evil in the world is logically compatible with God’s goodness, power,…. What made you want to look up the best of all (possible) worlds? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. in the best of all possible worlds definition in the English Cobuild dictionary for learners, in the best of all possible worlds meaning explained, see also 'at best',for the best',best man',best … Updates? Visions of Utopia, besmirch (someone or something) with (something), best things come in small packages, good things come in small packages, best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. An Affirmation of Modified Leibnizian Optimism. We thus have got rich by spending, jus t as the advertisers have told us we would, and the, Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, On the crassness of Leibniz's metaphysics, Protein: How Much and What Source is best for the Athlete, Paul Haigh: Time to pay jump jockeys their dues; Something has gone wrong and turned them into the teachers and nurses of the sporting world, The murder of "Gandhi" and the assassination of terrorists, Raising Hell: What Stops Parents From Handing on the Faith to Their Children. Best of all possible worlds, in the philosophy of the early modern philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), the thesis that the existing world is the best world that God could have created. Because of the interconnectedness of events, it could be that any world that does not contain the evil of the existing world would necessarily contain other, greater forms of evil. Against the claim that, because the number of possible worlds is infinite, there is no single possible world that is best (for any given good world, there will always be another world that is better), Leibniz argued that, if there were no best possible world, then God would not have had a sufficient reason to create one world rather than another, and so he would not have created any world at all. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/best-of-all-possible-worlds, Academia - The Best of all Possible Worlds? Because God is omnipotent and omniscient, he knew which possible world was the best and was able to create it, and, because he is omnibenevolent, he chose to create that world; 5. So someone saying "everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds" is now associated principally with the satire, and so is almost never used sincerely. The argument thus constitutes Leibniz’s solution to the problem of evil, or the apparent contradiction between the assumption that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent (perfectly good) and the evident fact of evil (including sin and unmerited suffering) in the world. Here Be Dragons: A Creature Identification Quiz. Accessed 29 Oct. 2020. 'Frankenstein' and 'Frankenfood': Creator or Creation? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). Announcing our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! The best of all (possible) worlds definition is - the best possible situation. Leibniz’s argument for the doctrine of the best of all possible worlds, now commonly called Against the claim that the existing world is not the best of all possible worlds because it is easy to imagine a world that has less evil in it, Leibniz argued that it is questionable whether a world with less evil really is imaginable. Therefore, the existing world, the one that God created, is the best of all possible worlds. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Delivered to your inbox! How to Use Word Division Dots and Syllable Hyphens. Leibniz’s argument for the doctrine of the best of all possible worlds, now commonly called Leibnizian optimism, is presented in its fullest form in his work Théodicée (1710; Theodicy), which was devoted to defending the justness of God (see theodicy). best of all possible worlds, the Everything is for the best. The full saying is “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.” Voltaire’s Candide (1759) was a satirical rejection of Leibniz’s optimistic view of the world. Post the Definition of the best of all (possible) worlds to Facebook, Share the Definition of the best of all (possible) worlds on Twitter. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Best+of+all+possible+worlds, Everything is for the best. Best of all possible worlds, in the philosophy of the early modern philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), the thesis that the existing world is the best world that God could have created. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent; 3. This expression of blind optimism occurs in Voltaire’s Candide (1758), where through Dr. Pangloss the author pokes fun at the German philosopher Leibnitz. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. n. 1. a. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? It is used to describe this kind of complacent self-assurance that apparent injustice or other evil could not be avoided or was somehow necessary in the grand scheme of things. For Leibniz, an additional central concern is the matter of reconciling human freedom (indeed, God's own freedom) with the determinism inherent in his own theory of the universe. Possible Worlds and Modal Logic. Learn a new word every day.