Could our universe exist just because that's best? Might alternatives be ruled out simply through being inferior, so that a blank, for example, couldn't have been possible? Originated by Plato, the idea has been historically influential. In this extremely important yet very readable book, a modern philosophical giant shows that the universe could well exist for the reason Plato gave.

John Leslie, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Many philosophers and theologians make grand metaphysical claims about creation, God, or the Good. But rarely have I read a work that so powerfully defends the inevitability of 'ultimate questions' and the move from there to 'ultimate answers.' Not all readers will endorse Rescher's 'value naturalism,' but the journey he takes us on remains indispensable.

Philip Clayton, Ingraham Professor of Theology, Claremont School of Theology, Author of In Quest of Freedom: The Emergence of Spirit in the Natural World

Building creatively on Plato and Leibniz, Nicholas Rescher develops an original metaphysics of ultimate explanation. He gives new life to the bold view that reality is as it is because that is for the best. This work will benefit all inquirers into the ultimate explanation of why things are as they are rather than otherwise.

Keith Moser

Nicolas Rescher has made a noteworthy contribution to the Platonic-Leibnizian tradition of metaphysical optimalism that may finally succeed in restoring this view to intellectual respectability....Rescher has provided a rare example of how to keep discussions of ultimate questions, as he puts it, "on this side of nonsense". Even those who are not convinced by his argument will be grateful for the opportunity it provides to refine and advance their own views. And this is no small feat: Rescher's clear and cogent argumentation shows that it is possible to make progress on questions that many professional philosophers have abandoned as fruitless.

American Journal of Theology and Philosophy