The Divine Ethic of Creation in Leibniz

"God creates the best of all possible worlds." With this bold dictum, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz summed up his theological views. Yet, why did God create this world, our world? The Divine Ethic of Creation in Leibniz uses this question as a touchstone for developing a comprehensive reconstruction of Leibniz's philosophical system. Whereas twentieth-century scholarship tended to focus on the logical foundations of Leibniz's thought, this book demonstrates how Leibniz's work on logic, mathematics, physics, metaphysics, and political theory was actually shaped by ethical and theological considerations.

Andrew Carlson received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University. He currently works in the nonprofit field