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Single Idea 19326

[filed under theme 28. God / A. Divine Nature / 2. Divine Nature ]

Full Idea

The cause of the world must be intelligent: for this existing world being contingent and an infinity of worlds being equally possible, with equal claim to existence, the cause of the world must have regarded all of these worlds to fix on one of them.

Gist of Idea

God must be intelligible, to select the actual world from the possibilities

Source

Gottfried Leibniz (The Theodicy [1710], p.127), quoted by Franklin Perkins - Leibniz: Guide for the Perplexed 2.II

Book Ref

Perkins,Franklin: 'Leibniz: Guide for the Perplexed' [Continuum 2007], p.21

A Reaction

A wonderfully Leibnizian way of putting what looks like the design argument.

Related Idea

Idea 19327 The intelligent cause must be unique and all-perfect, to handle all the interconnected possibilities [Leibniz]

The 16 ideas from 'The Theodicy'

19437 Prayers are useful, because God foresaw them in his great plan [Leibniz]
19337 How can an all-good, wise and powerful being allow evil, sin and apparent injustice? [Leibniz]
19345 Being confident of God's goodness, we disregard the apparent local evils in the visible world [Leibniz]
19325 God is the first reason of things; our experiences are contingent, and contain no necessity [Leibniz]
19326 God must be intelligible, to select the actual world from the possibilities [Leibniz]
19327 The intelligent cause must be unique and all-perfect, to handle all the interconnected possibilities [Leibniz]
19346 Most people facing death would happily re-live a similar life, with just a bit of variety [Leibniz]
19340 Metaphysical evil is imperfection; physical evil is suffering; moral evil is sin [Leibniz]
19331 Will is an inclination to pursue something good [Leibniz]
19367 Saying we must will whatever we decide to will leads to an infinite regress [Leibniz]
19351 Perfections of soul subordinate the body, but imperfections of soul submit to the body [Leibniz]
19344 God prefers men to lions, but might not exterminate lions to save one man [Leibniz]
19335 Reasonings have a natural ordering in God's understanding, but only a temporal order in ours [Leibniz]
19330 If justice is arbitrary, or fixed but not observed, or not human justice, this undermines God [Leibniz]
19329 The laws of physics are wonderful evidence of an intelligent and free being [Leibniz]
19366 You can't assess moral actions without referring to the qualities of character that produce them [Leibniz]