Contents -- Preface -- List of Abbreviations -- A Note on the Texts, Translations, and Methods of Citation -- Introduction -- 1. Evil and Theodicy -- 2. The Confession and Related Texts -- 3. Modality -- 4. The Author of Sin -- 5. Freedom, Individuation, and the Lament of the Damned -- Confessio philosophi: Papers Concerning the Problem of Evil, 1671-1678 -- 1. Letter to Magnus Wedderkopf (1671) -- 2. On the Omnipotence and Omniscience of God and the Freedom of Man (1670-1671?) -- 3. "The Confession of a Philosopher" (Fall 1672-Winter 1672-3?) -- 4. The Author of Sin (1673?) -- 5. "Conversation with Steno Concerning Freedom" (7 December 1677) -- 6. "Middle Knowledge" (November 1677) -- 7. "On Free Choice" (Between Summer 1678 and Winter 1680-81?) -- 8. On the Necessity of Choosing the Best (1677?) -- 9. A Demonstration That God Understands All Possibles (1677?) -- Notes -- Index.