Theodicy
The Essays of Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil argue that faith and reason agree and that the evil in the world does not refute a good and wise God. Answering Pierre Bayle, Leibniz distinguishes metaphysical, physical and moral evil, explains how God permits sin without willing it, defends a freedom that reasons incline without necessitating and ends with a fable of possible worlds.
Understanding the text
Published without the author’s name in Amsterdam in 1710, it is the only philosophical book Leibniz brought out in his lifetime. It grew from conversations with Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia, who died in 1705, about the objections raised in Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary, and it opens with a Preliminary Discourse on the conformity of faith with reason, followed by three parts.
Key points
- 01
Three kinds of evil
Metaphysical evil is the limitation of every creature, physical evil is suffering and moral evil is sin, which God permits only as bound up with the best.
- 02
Lazy reason
The fatalist who will not act because the future is settled forgets that outcomes are decided together with their causes, including our own efforts.
- 03
The palace of the fates
In the closing fable Pallas shows Theodorus rooms of possible worlds, each holding another Sextus, rising like a pyramid to the best world at its summit.
Explore the ideas in depth
Evil, freedom and the best world
Examine how the Theodicy answers Bayle’s objections, from the three kinds of evil to the fable of the palace of the fates.
Situating the text
Published without the author’s name in Amsterdam in 1710, it is the only philosophical book Leibniz brought out in his lifetime. It grew from conversations with Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia, who died in 1705, about the objections raised in Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary, and it opens with a Preliminary Discourse on the conformity of faith with reason, followed by three parts. The Essays of Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil argue that faith and reason agree and that the evil in the world does not refute a good and wise God. Answering Pierre Bayle, Leibniz distinguishes metaphysical, physical and moral evil, explains how God permits sin without willing it, defends a freedom that reasons incline without necessitating and ends with a fable of possible worlds.
Following the arguments
Three kinds of evil : Metaphysical evil is the limitation of every creature, physical evil is suffering and moral evil is sin, which God permits only as bound up with the best. Lazy reason : The fatalist who will not act because the future is settled forgets that outcomes are decided together with their causes, including our own efforts. The palace of the fates : In the closing fable Pallas shows Theodorus rooms of possible worlds, each holding another Sextus, rising like a pyramid to the best world at its summit.
Continuing the reading
Begin with the preface and the Preliminary Discourse, read the first part on evil and freedom, then turn to the closing fable of Sextus Tarquinius before returning to the detailed replies to Bayle. Published without the author’s name in Amsterdam in 1710, it is the only philosophical book Leibniz brought out in his lifetime. It grew from conversations with Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia, who died in 1705, about the objections raised in Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary, and it opens with a Preliminary Discourse on the conformity of faith with reason, followed by three parts.
Questions to carry into your reading
- Does the distinction between what God wills and what he only permits answer the charge that he is the author of sin?
- If reasons incline without necessitating, in what sense could Sextus have acted otherwise?
Leibniz’s optimism does not claim that all is well, but that no better whole was possible, a thesis that Voltaire’s Candide caricatured.
How to read it
Begin with the preface and the Preliminary Discourse, read the first part on evil and freedom, then turn to the closing fable of Sextus Tarquinius before returning to the detailed replies to Bayle.
Editions & sources
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method →