Optimism and the Best Possible World - A Philosophical History

This volume presents original essays on the ideas of philosophical optimism and the best possible world. It highlights the historical and philosophical nuances of an idea that remains under-treated within the literature despite its long and influential history.

List of contents

1. Introduction Justin J. Daeley 2. Optimism in Plato and the Neoplatonic Tradition Katherin A. Rogers 3. Thomas Aquinas and the (No) Best Possible World B. Kyle Keltz 4. Leibniz's Optimism and the Problem of Evil Julia Weckend 5. Rousseau versus Voltaire on Optimism Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra 6. Jonathan Edwards and the Early New England Theistic Optimism Justin J. Daeley 7. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Melioristic Turn in the Optimism Debate Lloyd Strickland 8. Non-theistic Optimism in Recent Philosophy Eric Steinhart 9. The Argument from Addition for No Best World Daniel Rubio 10. An Unsurpassable World Nevin Climenhaga 11. The Best of Everything Graham Oppy

About the author

Justin J. Daeley teaches philosophy for Liberty University (online), Lynchburg Virginia, USA. Daeley specializes in the philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, and Leibniz studies. He has published in academic journals like Sophia, Religious Studies, Philosophia Christi, and The Leibniz Review. His most recent book publication is Why God Must Do What Is Best: A Philosophical Investigation of Theistic Optimism (2021).

Summary

This volume presents original essays on the ideas of philosophical optimism and the best possible world. It highlights the historical and philosophical nuances of an idea that remains under-treated within the literature despite its long and influential history.

Product details

• Authors: Justin J. (University of Northwestern St. Daeley
• Assisted by: Justin J. Daeley (Editor)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 27.02.2025
• EAN: 9781032463100
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3246310-0
• No. of pages: 260
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; PHILOSOPHY / General, PHILOSOPHY / Religious, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / General, Christianity, History of Religion, Historiography, Philosophy of religion, Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900, Philosophical traditions and schools of thought