(This is not a good characterization of Leibniz’s actual conceptual system, for what it’s worth;---the arguments that this is the “best of all possible worlds” are quite technical and come from the sort of intuitions that would later inspire algorithmic information theory; certainly neither blind optimism nor psychologically contingent enthusiasm about life’s bounties were motivating the arguments. Crucially, “best” or similar, unlike “awesome”, is potentially philosophically simple (in the sense of algorithmic information theory), which is necessary for Leibniz’s arguments to go through. (This comment is directed more at the general readership than the author of the comment I’m replying to.))
My recollection of Leibniz’s view is dim but I recollect that the essence of it is that the perfection of the world is a consequence of the perfection of God. It would reflect poorly on the Omnipotence, Omniscience, Benevolence & Supreme Awesomeness &c of the Deity and Designer if he bashed out some second-rate less than perfectly good (or indeed merely averagely awesome) world. For the benefit of the general readership, the book to read on this is Candide by Voltaire. You will never see rationalists in quite the same way again… :-)
My recollection of Leibniz’s view is dim but I recollect that the essence of it is that the perfection of the world is a consequence of the perfection of God. It would reflect poorly on the Omnipotence, Omniscience, Benevolence & Supreme Awesomeness &c of the Deity and Designer if he bashed out some second-rate less than perfectly good (or indeed merely averagely awesome) world. For the benefit of the general readership, the book to read on this is Candide by Voltaire. You will never see rationalists in quite the same way again… :-)
I think this comment reinforces Will_Newsome’s point. The textbook Rhetoric, Logic, and Argumentation: A Guide for Student Writers by Magedah Shabo (quite correctly) uses Voltaire’s Candide as the very first example of a straw man fallacy on page 95.
I don’t either but I find “the best of all possible worlds” concept very interesting along with the related notion God could not possibly create a world that was anything other than “the most awesome of all possible worlds”—given the predicates traditionally ascribed to God.
You can take this is a reductio ad absurdam of the notion of God as many do. But presumably the task of friendly AI (at its most benevolent) must be to perform (or figure out) what actions should be taken to promote awesomeness?
More extravagantly, the task of friendly AI is to ‘build God.’
According to Leibniz, this is the most awesome of all possible worlds.
Falsified by diarrhea. Next!
(This is not a good characterization of Leibniz’s actual conceptual system, for what it’s worth;---the arguments that this is the “best of all possible worlds” are quite technical and come from the sort of intuitions that would later inspire algorithmic information theory; certainly neither blind optimism nor psychologically contingent enthusiasm about life’s bounties were motivating the arguments. Crucially, “best” or similar, unlike “awesome”, is potentially philosophically simple (in the sense of algorithmic information theory), which is necessary for Leibniz’s arguments to go through. (This comment is directed more at the general readership than the author of the comment I’m replying to.))
My recollection of Leibniz’s view is dim but I recollect that the essence of it is that the perfection of the world is a consequence of the perfection of God. It would reflect poorly on the Omnipotence, Omniscience, Benevolence & Supreme Awesomeness &c of the Deity and Designer if he bashed out some second-rate less than perfectly good (or indeed merely averagely awesome) world. For the benefit of the general readership, the book to read on this is Candide by Voltaire. You will never see rationalists in quite the same way again… :-)
Link to Candide
I think this comment reinforces Will_Newsome’s point. The textbook Rhetoric, Logic, and Argumentation: A Guide for Student Writers by Magedah Shabo (quite correctly) uses Voltaire’s Candide as the very first example of a straw man fallacy on page 95.
Nice catch!
All the more reason to read Candide I would say…
Personally I read Candide as a parody and a satire not anything that pretends for one millisecond to be rational argument.
It’s an extended riff on the meme “the best of all possible worlds” and it’s a lot of fun.
I don’t agree with Leibniz, but I do find his “best of all possible worlds” concept really useful for talking about what utilitarians try to do.
I don’t either but I find “the best of all possible worlds” concept very interesting along with the related notion God could not possibly create a world that was anything other than “the most awesome of all possible worlds”—given the predicates traditionally ascribed to God.
You can take this is a reductio ad absurdam of the notion of God as many do. But presumably the task of friendly AI (at its most benevolent) must be to perform (or figure out) what actions should be taken to promote awesomeness?
More extravagantly, the task of friendly AI is to ‘build God.’
(And get Her right this time :-)