The Paradox of Best Worlds

Authors

  • Mike Almeida University of Texas at San Antonio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69574/aejpr.v3i1.56183

Abstract

According to classical theism, God necessarily actualizes the best possible world and only the best possible world. It is a consequence of God's perfect nature that divine creation satisfies the principle of plenitude and the principle of the best. I show that God necessarily actualizes the best possible world w only if (i) the resulting world w' satisfies both the principle of the best and the principle of plenitude and (ii) w' is worse than w. That is the paradox of best worlds.

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Published

2026-07-18

How to Cite

Almeida, M. (2026). The Paradox of Best Worlds. AGATHEOS – European Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 3(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.69574/aejpr.v3i1.56183

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Mike Almeida

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