Mull
adr on Theodicy and the Best of All Possible Worlds
College of the Holy Cross
E-mail: ikalin{at}holycross.edu
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Abstract |
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The argument that the world that God has created is the best of all possible world-orders (a
san al-ni
m) is based on the premise that God always acts optimally. As a response to the problem of evil, the argument seeks to remove any tensions between the imperfection of the world and God's power and goodness. 
a
r al-D
n al-Shirz, known commonly as Mull adr (d. 1640), develops a number of arguments to defend the thesis as formulated by al-Ghazl. While reiterating the previous arguments, Mull adr revises the question of theodicy within the context of his concept of existence and its modalities. Instead of discussing the problem of evil in terms of moral imperfections alone, he defines the world of existence as ‘that which is necessarily less than God’ and thus bound to be imperfect. Furthermore, Mull adr interprets all evil, natural or moral, as serving a higher purpose because the world is structured in a hierarchical way and for everything there is a teleological history. The article looks critically at the eight arguments which adr advances to defend his position. At the end of his elaborate discussions, however, adr takes refuge in blessed ignorance and faithfully accepts that not all problems of philosophy can be solved decisively.