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Essais de Théodicée is published as Leibniz’s only lifetime philosophical book

In 1710 Essais de Théodicée appeared, Leibniz’s only philosophical book published in his lifetime, defending the ‘best of possible worlds’ against Bayle.

Sources: [1][2]

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In 1710 Essais de Théodicée appeared, Leibniz’s only philosophical book published in his lifetime, defending the ‘best of possible worlds’ against Bayle. Later Candide is not this colophon.

Context

SEP and Britannica independently date the 1710 Théodicée.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.

Conventional years are 1646–1716. Surviving public files are GWLB Nachlass pages, the Akademie-Ausgabe, SEP, and encyclopedias. Leibniz did not typeset those later pages. Later electronic computers are not this life.

Why it matters

Knowledge-access path. High confidence on 1710.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.4 · verified

    He wrote the 1710 essays. Amsterdam printers issued them. Complex; later Voltaire satire is reception.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

No public driver impacts are listed for this fact.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Britannica — Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

SEP’s Leibniz entry and Britannica independently describe the 1710 Théodicée as the lifetime philosophical book.

Established: Théodicée was published in 1710. Not established: that 1710 uniquely lowered any measured unrest series.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

No causal path is recorded: this fact is not linked to a driver.

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Essais de Théodicée is published as Leibniz’s only lifetime philosophical book. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/gwl-theodicy-1710

https://factrail.ai/facts/gwl-theodicy-1710

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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