Voltaire

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The Philosophes Advocate Reason

Beliefs of the Philosophes• The philosophes are French social critics in the

mid-1700s• Value reason, nature, happiness, progress,

liberty

SECTION

2

Voltaire Combats Intolerance• Voltaire—influential philosophe, pen name of

François Marie Arouet• Publishes many works arguing for tolerance, reason• Makes powerful enemies and is imprisoned twice for

his views

Continued . . .

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New Views on Society

Some Enlightenment philosophers focused on government, others on issues in society

• Francois-Marie Arouet, wrote as Voltaire

• Outspoken philosopher, wrote with biting wit

– Attacked injustice among nobility, government, church

– Created enemies, imprisoned twice

– Exiled to England for two years

– Defended principles, fought superstition, ignorance

– Lifelong struggle for justice, toleration, liberty

Voltaire• Loathed the Church

– Blocked development of freedom– “Crush the horrible thing!”– What do monks do?

• “sing, eat, digest”

– Pope condemned his writings

Voltaire• Superstition

– “The fewer superstitions, the less fanaticism, and the less fanaticism, the fewer calamities”

Voltaire

• Francois Marie Arouet• Published more then 70 books• Made frequent targets of the

clergy, aristocracy, and the government• Twice sent to French prison• Fought for tolerance• Exiled from France, returned after two years

later fled another prison term

Voltaire:Voltaire:

Fought for tolerance, reason, Fought for tolerance, reason, freedom of religion, and freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. freedom of speech.

Got into lots of trouble for his Got into lots of trouble for his ideas and spent time in jail. ideas and spent time in jail.

Usually targeted the clergy, Usually targeted the clergy, aristocracy, and government. aristocracy, and government.

Voltaire (1694-1778)• Voltaire was one of the most brilliant

and prolific of the Enlightenment thinkers.

• Playwright, novelist and wrote many philosophical essays.

• Especially well-known for his criticism of religion and his belief in religious toleration and acceptance.

• Treatise on Toleration: argued that religious toleration had created no problems for England and Holland. Argued that all men are brothers under God.

• Was a champion of Deism

Voltaire (1694-1778)

• French intellectual who criticized French society

• Writings offended political and religious authorities

• Wrote against religious persecution

• Believed that with reason, society could improve

Voltaire

• Wrote funny, satiric works that criticized the society of the period.

• Worked with Frederick of Prussia—an “enlightened despot”

• Was imprisoned in the Bastille, later was exiled from France.

• Most famous work was Candide, that criticized the idea that “everything is for the best.”

Voltaire

• Opposed evils of religious bigotry and political oppression

• Candide makes fun of optimists

• Cultivate your own garden: reject philosophical solutions ;cultivate himself, work hard and seek a comfortable and reasonable life.

Voltaire’s Views on Rights

Everybody should have:– Freedom of thought– Champion of human rights– Freedom of speech, press, and religion

Voltaire

• Pen name• Critical of Catholic church• Influenced others by letters• Denied writings to avoid problems

– Exiled to England for a while– Returned to live on Swiss border

• Candide– Led by Pangloss ("All Talk") who

believed that all is right in God's world– Lisbon earthquake and fatalism

(drowning)– "Let us all tend our garden"

Voltaire’s View on the New TrendsVoltaire’s View on the New Trends

• Man is the owner of his own mind • Man is capable of goodness and progress • One can uncover the reason behind

events and can explain the principles that govern nature, man and society

• Questioning and criticism of authority • broad solidarity of Enlightened

intellectuals • Strong aversion toward nationalism

Source: http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/enlightenment.html (2-16-03)

Voltaire’s Famous Works• Works filled more than 90 volumes• Letters on the English---1734, about how he admired the

British government and society for its tolerance and fair government; this got him in trouble with the French absolute monarch Louis XV and the Catholic Church, the book was banned and burned in public, Voltaire had to go into hiding or be thrown into the Bastille

• Candide---a satirical novel making fun of the nobles; it was a fantasy of a philosophe who wanders through Europe witnessing suffering, hardship, and inhumanity, it criticizes that view that Europe was the best of all possible worlds; focuses on the theme that happiness comes from taking care of oneself

• The Philosophy of Newton---about the scientific achievements of Isaac Newton and the importance of the scientific method

Literary Focus

• Satire is writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.

• An expert satirist like Voltaire uses a variety of tools to expose his subject to ridicule—from witty barbs to heavy bludgeons that flatten his opponent’s sacred cows.

• As Voltaire exposes one absurdity after another, readers become convinced that they would be fools not to agree with his point of view.

CANDIDE (CH 1, 2, 17, 18, 19, 30, and supplements) Background

• Candide is subtitled “Optimism” and tells a tale of the woes that befall a naïve simpleton who is brought up to believe that this world is the best of all possible worlds.

• The point of Voltaire’s story is to show how Candide’s optimism is foolish in a world in which people’s lives are shaped for the most part by cruel and incomprehensible forces.

Voltaire—Responsible for the Trend of Enlightened Despots

• Voltaire pushed the idea that a ruler can justify her/his power by improving society.– Voltaire is the

philosopher who said: “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.”

Voltaire

• Voltaire – spent a lot of time

at the court of Frederick the Great of Prussia (Voltaire was the first to call him “the Great”)

– corresponded with Catherine the Great of Russia.

Voltaire’s Opposition to Tyranny

• He opposed tyranny and dogma, but he had no notion of reinventing democracy. – He had far too little faith in the

ordinary person for that.– He thought that educated and

sophisticated people could, through the exercise of their reason, see that the world could and should be greatly improved.

“I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”

– Voltaire

“The individual who persecutes another because he is not of the same opinion is nothing less than

a monster.”

– Voltaire

Voltaire cont.

• His famous cry was “Crush the infamous thing (superstition)!”

• He constantly fought against the system that tortured and plundered in the name of religion

• “Men…enriched by your sweat and misery…made you superstitious, not that you might fear God, but that you might fear them.”

• He was NOT an atheist

“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: ‘Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.’ And God granted it.”

“Almost everything that goes beyond the adoration of a Supreme Being and submission of the heart to his orders is superstition. One of the most dangerous is to believe that certain ceremonies entail the forgiveness of crimes. Do you believe that God will forget a murder you have committed if you bathe in a certain river, sacrifice a black sheep…? … Do better miserable humans, have neither murders nor sacrifices of black sheep.”

God is a comedian God is a comedian playing to an audience playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.too afraid to laugh.

It is dangerous to be It is dangerous to be right when the right when the government is wrong.government is wrong.

I may not agree with what I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will you have to say, but I will defend to the death your defend to the death your right to say it.right to say it.

Quotes by and about Voltaire

• Voltaire: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.”

• Victor Hugo: “He was an age. To name Voltaire is to characterize the entire eighteenth century.”

• Will Durant: “Italy had a Renaissance, Germany had a Reformation, but France had Voltaire.”