The eighteenth century was a crucial changing point in the European history because
of The Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was revolutionary because of Voltaire, a writer that used his ideas to attack the established Catholic Church, and to propagate the freedom of religion, scientific thoughts, skepticism and experiential philosophy.
Voltaire was born in 1694, a year that was under the regiment of Louis XIV. At that time, the aristocracy ruled France in an extreme way that most commoners were struggling in poverty. From a middle-class family, Voltaire did not like the political environment of France and the aristocratic system. As a well-educated and intelligent student from the college of Louis-le-Grand, he became a secretary for the French Ambassador. Although his social status was satisfying to most people, Voltaire was more interested in elaborating his witty ideas by words, so he decided to become a writer instead of continuing working for the French Ambassador. His harsh and sarcastic writing style soon made him famous. However, the fame also brought him trouble: He was disliked by the noblemen in France and was caught into the jail. In the jail, he started to use the name “Voltaire” and produced his first play, Oedipe, in 1718. The play was a huge success and got him more attention. The French aristocracy cannot tolerate the existence of such impact in France anymore. Therefore, they put Voltaire into the jail and subsequently exiled to England in 1726.
Nevertheless, the trip to England enlightened Voltaire at another area: the science. During that time, Voltaire got to be exposed to the scientific thoughts from the British
people: Newton, Bacon and Locke, etc. He found those ideas amazing and started to promote sci...
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...in Optimism, or the priests from the church, throughout the entire book. Candide had all kinds of misfortune, but he was still happy and believed that those disasters were just trials from the God, which made him look like a fool. After the Candide was published, people in France were astonished and ignited the huge debate of individualism and Christianity.
In conclusion, from Letters on England and the Candidate, Voltaire showed his intelligence in explaining the thoughts of science and utilizing sarcasm to attack the current political and religious traditions in France. Also, from his work, he showed the life that he had experienced before, and the ideas that promoted The Enlightenment and the revolutions: the freedom of religion, scientific thoughts, skepticism and experiential philosophy.
Works Cited
Voltaire, Letters on England
Voltaire, the Candide
Voltaire, more formally known as Francois-Marie Arouet, was a writer, philosopher and historian in the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was the period of time from the late seventeenth century through early nineteenth century in which European thinkers and philosophers began to question and contradict typical styles of thinking. The belief behind this new Enlightenment thinking was that the human race could better themselves through simply creating reasonable change.
Voltaire. Candide. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1918. Project Gutenberg. Web. 11 January 2014. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm
There are many different ways in which the Enlightenment affected the Declaration of Independence and the U.S Constitution. One way was the by the idea of a Social Contract; an agreement by which human beings are said to have abandoned the "state of nature" in order to form the society in which they now live. HOBBES, LOCKE, and J.J. ROUSSEAU each developed differing versions of the social contract, but all agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for society's protection and that the government has definite responsibilities to its citizens. Locke believed that governments were formed to protect the natural rights of men, and that overthrowing a government that did not protect these rights was not only a right, but also an obligation. His thoughts influenced many revolutionary pamphlets and documents, including the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and the Declaration of Independence. The Bill of Rights was created as a listing of the rights granted to citizens, the Bill of Rights serves to protect the people from a too powerful government. These civil rights granted to U.S. Citizens are included in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, Locke’s ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution as well. The Constitution replaced a more weakly organized system of government as outlined under the Articles of Confederation.
An enlightenment philosopher François-Marie Arouet, commonly known as Voltaire, wrote Candide. Voltaire “was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state (Wikipedia).” He was born November 21st 1694 into an upper-middle class family. Voltaire started showing an interest in writing at a young age. Candide was published in 1579. It was a French Satire. A satire is “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues (Oxford Dictionary).” Candide mocks the ideas of the philosopher Leibnitz though the character of Pangloss because Leibnitz believed in an optimistic world and Voltaire feels that thinking this way makes one a hypocrite. Candide defines optimism as “a mania for insisting that all is well when things are going badly (Voltaire, p. 48).” Throughout the book, many themes and symbols are present.
Napoleon and the Enlightenment The enlightenment was a time of great learning throughout Europe during the eighteenth century. Although the period is significant for scientific and other scholastic advancements, it is most important because it allowed for the opening of great minds—such as that of Napoleon Bonaparte. Shortly after this enlightenment made its way through Europe, revolution and civil war ripped through France between 1879 and 1899. The unrest of the time called for a strong ruler.
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.
In Candide, Voltaire explores the ideas of paternalistic optimism and uses satire as a method of social commentary. His story follows the misery of one man as he pursues his one and only love and the happiness that he eventually finds. By framing the novel around a biblical story and having Candide lose and regain paradise, Voltaire suggests that one must cultivate their own perfect world as opposed to optimistically enduring the present in the hopes of a better future.
The Scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries changed the way that people views the world. Scientific philosophers such as Galileo and Descartes threw out the old teachings of the church and challenged them with new ways of thinking. These men sought to prove that rational thought could prove the existence of God. They also challenged that it was an understanding of a series of rational thoughts, not faith, would bring understanding of how the world worked. Traditional ways of thinking were ultimately challenged by logical and sensible rationale.
Overall Voltaire is successful in promoting his ideas and beliefs. It is clear he wants to see a drastic change in religion, politics and morals in the pre-modern period. Throughout his novel Candide he is able to criticise society with a light hearted mockery but also with a seriousness using extreme examples to address his points and concerns. It is arguable that his ambitions were far too high at a time of hope and debate in the 18th century.
Candide is an outlandishly humorous, far-fetched tale by Voltaire satirizing the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. It is the story of a young man’s adventures throughout the world, where he witnesses much evil and disaster. Throughout his travels, he adheres to the teachings of his tutor, Pangloss, believing that "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." Candide is Voltaire’s answer to what he saw as an absurd belief proposed by the Optimists - an easy way to rationalize evil and suffering. 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. It attacks the idea that optimism, which holds that rational thought can inhibit the evils perpetrated by human beings.
... to make you commit injustices.” Voltaire studied natural sciences and reason because he was against supestition. Although he advocated religious tolerance, he believed that any one church should not have absolute power. By the time he was executed, he had already brought about the end of the power and right of the church to torture France. People in France still are not as faithful to the Catholic Church as they had been before Voltaire had introduced them to the idea of “reasoning”.
Voltaire uses the episode of “The storm, the shipwreck, the earthquake, and what became of Dr. Pangloss, of Candide, and of Jacques the Anabaptist” to speak about the idea of nature being good being false. Through the use of various characters and episodes, Voltaire criticizes and attacks religion, social class structure, and the idea that nature is good by creating situations in which he shows his opinion on the overall flaws of society.
...the Enlightenment, he uses Candide as a means to scrutinize the absolute optimism of his fellow thinkers. Voltaire's use of satire throughout the novel is intended to identify inequality, brutality, and racism, all of the things that optimism intends to cover. The effect of such satire is that it sheds light on these injustices and has them viewed as intolerable by the reader. Voltaire drew attention to the actuality of the 18th century, while Enlightenment philosophers tried to use optimism to mask the horrors. By acknowledging that there are problems in society, Voltaire's anti-optimism view causes the population to ponder and draw out reform ideas.
Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1998.