The Visitor

(Originally written 8/22/07 in Notebook 19)

Name: The Visitor

Plot:

A charming, eloquent, charismatic sailor comes to port at an island whose country has reigned uninterrupted for thousands of years. Within two weeks of his arrival he has passed judgment on the nation by observing one of the thousand cities of the nation. His eloquence leads many of the city's inhabitants to drop their religion, speak out against their government and finally revolt. The country collapses and anarchy and barbarism ensures. In the end the peace is restored, but the trust and security that was once enjoyed by the citizens is lost. The visiting sailor is tried and executed for his rash hubris and ill-educated judgment.

Idea:

Defend the best of all possible worlds thesis of Leibniz by showing how we quickly view a corrupt or non-best particular as the complete unraveling of a divinely ordained world. The goal is to show how we, such finite and miserable creatures, have grand illusions of our own foresight.

"It is unjust to make a judgment unless one has examined the entire law" (Discourse on Metaphysics and Other Essays, G.W. Leibniz)