Background
In the 17th and 18th centuries, with the development of capitalism, the power of the bourgeois became stronger. Feudal system hindered the development of capitalism.
Nature science was the weapon that could break the feudalism. The Enlightenment was the product of this period. The origin of the Enlightenment was in England, and throughout in the Europe. France was the core country of the Enlightenment. The influence of the Enlightenment on the world was enormous. It provided plenty of mental preparation for the French Revolution; had inspired role in American
Revolution.
Voltaire’s Letter on England
In the course of the Enlightenment, a large number of thinkers have emerged:
Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire, Kant, Locke, etc. Among those people, Voltaire had the most representative; he was also being the leader of the Enlightenment in
France. Someone said: the 18th century was the Voltaire’s century. This shows the huge contribution he made in the European history. Letters on England was written when he exiled in the England, through the understanding of the local government, the observation of the religions, and the research on the social customs he wrote this book. This book not only was his first philosophical and political writing, but also was his representative thought. From this book, his writing from three major aspects to describe Britain at that time.
Philosophy
As Locke and Newton’s believers, Voltaire inheritance Locke’s empiricism. Voltaire recognized the objectivity of the material world. From the Letter 13 and Letter 14, he described Locke, Descartes, and Newton. Voltaire critiqued Descartes “Descartes born to uncover the errors of antiquity, but to substitute his own” . Which show him...
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...ernment, which disclosure the dark society in the late 18th century. At that time, people’s right couldn’t be guarantee. From Voltaire’s point of view, a just society should be fair and equitable, but he also explained all the human being could divided into nobles and civilians. He didn’t oppose nobles or overthrow the absolute monarchy, he just advised to create monarchy.
For god, Voltaire had complex ideas, he believed god not because the metaphysical system, he thought god could maintain moral life. However for Mary Shelley, the Frankenstein was a symbol of god, “If I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death” Frankenstein was trying to challenge the god.
In conclusion, no matter Voltaire or Mary Shelley. They both used their minds inspired and motivated people at that time, guide people to get successes.
The late 17th and early 18th centuries were characterized by The Enlightenment; when revolutions in the patterns in society, science, and philosophy took place (Bristow). Many people started to look for reasoning in everyday life and religion, which more specifically led to the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther. As religion and the Catholic Church was questioned, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, an Enlightenment philosopher, invented the idea of philosophical optimism. Optimism stated that the the world was the “best of all possible worlds” because God created it. Voltaire, famous philosopher and author countered Leibniz’s idea in his novel Candide. Candide is a story about the a very naive character, named Candide, who ventures out into the world that Voltaire portrays as having a lot of suffering and consequently, not the “best of all possible worlds”. Because Voltaire disapproves of philosophical optimism, he uses satire to point out its fallacies by ridiculing the monarchy, exaggerating the perils of his characters, and by mocking the Church.
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
“Ecrasons l’infame,” which is interpreted, “We must crush the vile thing.” This is the expression Voltaire used to articulate his feelings for organized religion. With many natural theists soon to follow his path, Voltaire expressed his hatred for cultural religions, opting for a universal God of nature. Given a few more centuries, Darwin would have given Voltaire the scientific theory to support his desire for atheism. But alas, with no other theory in place, intelligent individuals of 18th century France were forced to use creationism to explain the world in its beauty and organization. This, as previously stated, was not a problem for Voltaire. His issue was the moral implications that separated religious groups, often to the point of war with one another. Religious intolerance was a subject he dealt with in many of his works, especially Candide. The religious characters in this work were mostly negative with the exception of Brethren predecessor, the Anabaptist, and the old woman. His opinion of various religions was also established in Candide, although it was simply a vague one, clumping all organized religions into an “evil superstitions” category. The conclusion of this work also gave us insight on Voltaire’s view of religion as either positive or detrimental to society and the individual.
In Marry Shelly’s book Frankenstein, she tells the story of a man named Victor Frankenstein. The character of Frankenstein contains traits that parallel Prometheus from Greek mythology. Through his actions and emotions Victor Frankenstein becomes the modern Prometheus by producing ill-fated actions that carry tragic consequences just as Prometheus’ did.
Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best. Voltaire shows the primary concerns during the period of Enlightenment, but also criticizes certain aspects of the movement. He attacks the idea that good prevails over evil because he believes that human beings perpetrate evil. He laughs at Candide for believing all the corruption that is occurring and religious intolerance.
Many timeless novels have impacts on our everyday culture, not only as a book, but also through music or movies. Many popular novels have multiple adaptations, which shape how we approach their interpretation, in ways we may never even notice. In some films, humans are depicted as monsters, whether through their actions, or through the thoughts of other beings. In these films we find issues with our own society, and in turn see ourselves as monsters, and look for ways we can change, for the better. One particular novel that influences this side of Hollywood is Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein”. The ways Frankenstein influences pop culture can be seen in science fiction films in which humans are depicted as monster, and “monsters” are seen as more humane beings, such as I, Robot, and Ender’s Game.
When Voltaire was young and attended “Louis-Le-Grand” in Paris, he wanted to become a writer. His father made him work as a legal assistant, but he didn't do much of a good job at that. Instead he
By definition, knowledge is the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (Merriam-Webster.com). In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley considers knowledge as a “dangerous” factor. The danger of it is proved throughout the actions of the characters Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the creature. The characters all embody the theme of knowledge in different ways. Shelley supports her opinion about knowledge by using references from the Bible and Paradise Lost. She uses these references to show the relationship between God’s Adam and Frankenstein’s creature, and how nothing turns out as great as God’s creation. Mary Shelley’s goal is to teach a lesson on how destructive the desire for knowledge really is.
The enlightenment in the perspective of the French 18th century thinker, François-Marie Arouet, famously known as Voltaire, to him, was the time where religious superstations and ignorance was to be replaced with rational thinking. Unlike other enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire was not an atheist, he in fact believed in a greater power who was merciful, he believed in a balance between religion and science, and respected the unexplainable. Although, he by no means agreed with the Catholic church, which lead to a constant feud between him and the Catholic church, and in fact most authority. In a writing, called treatise on intolerance, in he condemns those who in his words say, “Believe, or I detest thee”, (Voltaire argued). He believed that it was cruel to
Though he was by no means a pessimist, Voltaire refused to believe that what happens is always for the best. The Age of Enlightenment is a term applied to a wide variety of ideas and advances in the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. The primary feature of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people can actively work to create a better world. A spirit of social reform characterized the political ideology of Enlightenment philosophers. While Voltaire’s Candide is heavily characterized by the primary concerns of the Enlightenment, it also criticizes certain aspects of the movement.
As Voltaire noticed the changes the Enlightenment brought, it is only conceivable that there was a goal; a form of society that would arise from a fully ‘enlightened’ populace He imagines a perfect utopia in the form of a mythical place called El Dorado. His characters spend time in this society, enabling us to see the characteristics of this society. On the issue of trade, Candide is informed that, “all the inns, which are established for the convenience of those who carry on the trade of this nation, are maintained by the government” (46). So the first characteristic is the promotion of trade and in turn a free market system. On religion, Candide is informed that there is only one God, but they do not pray, and have no form of priests. This
Mary Shelley discusses many important themes in her famous novel Frankenstein. She presents these themes through the characters and their actions, and many of them represent occurrences from her own life. Many of the themes present debateable issues, and Shelley's thoughts on them. Three of the most important themes in the novel are birth and creation; alienation; and the family and the domestic affections.
Imagine a world with limited diversity and a forced belief system with no encouragement of curiosity or discovery. Many of the philosophers and past scientist lived in this culture and were often being condemned for their findings, opinions and discoveries. Voltaire’s works showed his views on religion through witty writing, he brought to life the topics of fanaticism, nature, the impious, God and several others. While religious chaos remains present, Voltaire seemed to depict the topic of religion and tolerance perfectly. Throughout history the impact of religious intolerance can be viewed and there are still examples of religious intolerance today. Voltaire outlined his views of religion in the “Philosophical Dictionary”, in 1764. In his writing, Voltaire, appears to have viewed the selfishness of man and the need to have power to prevent the assumed chaos, had shifted the view of believing in one god by faith to become clouded by false truths, deception and propaganda; man, is no longer following the will of god through faith, but the will of man through loyalty.
François-Marie Arouet, better known under his pen name Voltaire, was one of the leading philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. He is considered the epitome of the eighteenth century, which has been named le siècle de Voltaire. His philosophical novel or conte, Candide, was published in 1759 and remains one of his most well known and widely read of his works—particularly for the English reader.
At the start of the revolution, in 1789, France’s class system changed dramatically (Giddens, 2014). Aristocrats lost wealth and status, while those who were at the bottom of the social ladder, rose in positions. The rise of sociology involved the unorthodox views regarding society and man which were once relevant during the Enlightenment (Nisbet, 2014). Medievalism in France during the eighteenth century was still prevalent in its “legal structures, powerful guilds, in its communes, in the Church, in universities, and in the patriarchal family” (Nisbet, 2014). Philosophers of that time’s had an objective to attempt to eliminate the natural law theory of society (Nisbet, 2014). The preferred outcome was a coherent order in which the mobility of individuals would be unrestricted by the autonomous state (French Revolution). According to Karl Marx, economic status is extremely important for social change. The peasants felt the excess decadence of the ancient regime was at the expense of their basic standards of living, thus fuelling Marx’s idea of class based revolutions and the transition of society (Katz, 2014). This can be observed, for example, in novels such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel that had a role for mobilizing the attitudes of the