The best of all worlds

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Do we live in the best of all possible worlds - or the worst? In this lecture, philosopher Henrik Schøneberg takes Leibniz's optimism and Schopenhauer's pessimism as his starting point and argues why the glass is perhaps best understood as half full. The philosopher GW Leibniz claimed that we live in a world that may not be perfect, but is as good as a world can be. His successor Arthur Schopenhauer would not hear of that. Rather, he believed that we live in the worst of all possible worlds. Is the glass half full or half empty? It is tempting to stand between the two opposing sides. In this lecture, however, philosopher Henrik Schøneberg chooses to side with the optimist Leibniz and argues that the glass is best understood as half full. At the same time, he credits the pessimist Schopenhauer for leading him in this direction. The lecture provides insight into two significant philosophical positions and invites reflection on how we ourselves choose to understand the world and our place in it. Who is the lecture aimed at? - Date: 13 October 2026 - Time: 18:00–20:00 - Venue: Gladsaxe Hovedbibliotek - Address: Søborg Hovedgade 220, Søborg, Denmark - Admission: From DKK 200