Two perspectives on the problem of evil: Leibniz's theodicy and voltaire's candide

This article presents two perspectives on one of the oldest problems in philosophy of religion: if God is good and omnipotent, how can evil exist? In the XVIIth century, the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz offered an answer in his greatest work, Theodicy, arguing that we live in the best of possible worlds. A century later, Voltaire protested against the answer offered by Leibniz and mocked it in his famous novel, Candide. In the end, Voltaire's criticisms permit a justification that does not ask why God allows evil, but rather asks what we can do to eradicate evil.