Despite a myriad of disasters in his lifetime, Leibniz – perhaps philosophy most famous optimist – maintained ours is the best possible world: varied, lawful, and happy. Might we in the 21st century plot a similar course through our own disasters and crisis, transferring Leibnizian optimism to the secular west? Although some have tried, their optimistic accounts unravel quickly, argues Lloyd Strickland.

Is our world the best possible world? It is a strange question at the best of times, but even stranger in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite this, many philosophers have asked this question and answered it in the affirmative.

To think that ours is the best of all possible worlds is also known as “optimism” in the philosophical sense of the term. The most famous proponent of this idea is the German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Leibniz never wavered from his optimism, despite a million lives being lost in the European wars of his time, as well as the natural disasters and bouts of plague.

Once we understand why Leibniz said that ours is the best possible world, and what he meant when he said it, we will see that the idea is not as daft as it might initially seem.

So there is no doubt that - if he were alive today - he would still be optimistic, in spite of the pandemic. Once we understand why Leibniz said that ours is the best possible world, and what he meant when he said it, we will see that the idea is not as daft as it might initially seem.

So why did Leibniz think that our world was the best one possible? He deduced this conclusion from the nature of God: God is all powerful, so can create any world desired; God is all-knowing, so knows which worlds will be better than others; and God is perfectly good, so will want to create only the very best world. If God were to create the second best world (or any other) then something would be wrong – either God wouldn’t have enough power to create the best world, or have enough knowledge to know which world is best, or enough goodness to want to create it. But all of these suggestions are ridiculous, because God’s nature is perfect. As such, God will create the best possible world.