  Leibniz is famous for his “optimism,” that is, for the thesis that this is the best of all possible worlds. According to Leibniz, God surveyed the infinitely many possible worlds, determined which was best, and instantiated it or made it actual. In an important article, “Theories of Actuality,” Robert Merrihew Adams dubs this the “Divine Choice Theory” of actuality. In the main article on Leibniz, the reasons for this view are presented. But it is important to see that there are several factors that contribute to God's choice: first, according to Leibniz, God chose the world that was simplest in hypotheses (or laws) and richest in phenomena; second, it is claimed that God was chiefly concerned with the happiness of minds; third, since (it is argued) God sought to have the maximum perspectives on the universe, the world is a plenum, filled with minds each of which expresses the world from its own point of view.