LIFE, WORKS, PHILOSOPHY, CONTEXT, AND MORE de Voltaire

The Age of Reason/Enlightenment What do we know about the Enlightenment?  Also called the Age of Reason  It was popular in 18 th century Europe and sought to encourage the use of reason and the advancement of knowledge.  Promoted Science (which was not cool with the Church, oftentimes)  Disliked abuses of the Church, fighting between Protestants and Catholics, etc.  Came after the Renaissance, but before Romanticism.  Think “Swift”

The Life of Voltaire Voltaire was born November 21, 1694 as Francois- Marie Arouet. He was born in Paris to a middle class family. His father was very stern, and his mother died when he was ten. (He hated the idea of “self” and did not write about his family or anything considered “introspective”.) He was educated at Jesuit College (Louis-le-Grand) (he was sent there at the age of 10). After college, he defied his father’s wishes and turned to writing.

The Life of Voltaire Voltaire became known as a great satirist and writer. After writing two “libelous” poems about a French aristocrat, he was sent to prison (the Bastille) for eleven months. During this time, he wrote a play based on the Greek tragedy of Oedipus. It was called Oedipe, and was critically acclaimed. After being released he had a second run-in, and decided to exile to England.

The Life of Voltaire Voltaire loved England and the English. He even wrote one of his books cataloging the freedoms the English enjoyed (ironic when you think about how much Swift hated England, also an exile). This book was banned and burned in France. Voltaire, upon his return to France, lived with his mistress for the next 15 years. Upon her death, he became part of the Prussian Court, but despised the people there.

The Life of Voltaire His life, at this point full of disappointments, caused him to reject his optimistic philosophy and the philosophy of Leibniz (see later slide). Also adding to his rejection of optimism were the concepts of war and natural disaster (namely, the earthquake at Lisbon and the Seven Years War). Voltaire, overall, was well-renowned. He was named honorary historiographer of France, was elected to the French academy, and his books (banned or not), flew off of shelves.

Voltaire Voltaire hated human cruelty, religious intolerance, war, and many other aspects of society. He holds a place in French literature equivalent to that of Shakespeare’s in English literature. Voltaire wrote poetry, histories, satires, plays (75 of them), and philosophical tales (Candide). He also wrote criticisms of literature and wrote for The Encyclopedie, a work that came to epitomize the Enlightenment. Voltaire often rejected his work, writing under the pseudonym “Dr. Ralph”.

Philosophy and Deism Voltaire became extremely interested in the works of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz. Isaac Newton, of course, thought that Universe could be explained by physics and mathematics (he is the guy who established gravitational law). Newton believed that ‘a deity’ constructed a completely rational and orderly world (like a clock), but did not interfere with it. Voltaire liked this idea and thought humans could find happiness in this type of Universe.

Philosophy Continued (Leibniz)  Leibniz ( ) was a/the:  German mathematician  Co-inventor of calculus  Philosopher and theologian  Developer of the philosophical theory of “optimism”  Applied mathematical formulas to theological issues Leibniz espoused “Optimism” If (1) God is moral, and (2) God is all powerful, then (3) Everything that happens in the world must be the best thing that could possibly happen. In other words, God would not create a universe other than the best of all possible universes.

THUS We are part of a system and cannot see the whole picture. What we see as bad is actually good and necessary. We are a part of nature, not the singular end of creation. It is only our pride that causes us to see our immediate suffering as a bad thing. Whatever IS is right.

Loss of Optimism Because of Voltaire’s loss of his mistress, his falling- out with the Prussians, his experiences with war, and the Earthquake at Lisbon, he came to refute the idea of an “optimistic” world. He became keenly aware of suffering, human frailty, and the many things that threaten our existence. At this point, which was rather late in his career, he started writing the “philosophical tale”. He often denied they were his because (1) the novel was not well received and (2) they were satirical.

The Philosophical Tale Voltaire wrote in many genres, including a genre called the “Philosophical Tale”—this is best represented by Candide  A very specialized genre quite popular in the 18 th century  Should not be read realistically--the purpose is not to present a believable version of life, as in a novel.  These works are works of satire--they are intended to use humor to criticize some philosophical position.

Philosophical Tales A philosophical tale tests a certain proposition  Gulliver's Travels Book IV tested the proposition that humans were "rational animals."  Candide is designed to test the proposition that this is the best of all possible worlds.  This is known as the philosophy of "Optimism"

Symbols and Themes Religion:  Voltaire was a "deist"--he was not an atheist, but he believed that God was an organizer, or a clockmaker, and that, after organizing the world and creating certain natural laws, he allowed it to run by itself.  Deism is derived entirely from reason--God is not experienced through revelation or sacred text; he is deduced from reason and from the evidence of the natural world.  This was a very popular religious position among Enlightenment thinkers--Thomas Jefferson was also a deist.  It is very consistent with Enlightenment ideals: the search for foundational principles in morality, law, politics, art, music, and literature (to name only a few).

Deism  Voltaire spent much of his life crusading against what he called l'infâme (the infamy), which, for him, meant a kind of hostile religious fanaticism and intolerance.  Voltaire himself was exiled from both Catholic France and Calvinist Geneva  He managed to make enemies on both sides of a major issue--a real accomplishment for a satirist.

Religion –More  Some examples of this kind of intolerance in Candide  is the Pope Antichrist? (attack on Protestantism)  the auto da fe (attack on Catholicism)  In the city of El Dorado, there are no monks or priests  Voltaire is working positively to show how well society can be run without religious discourse.  Many of the sympathetic characters in Candide are from organizations on the fringes of organized religion  The Anabaptists (Jacques the Anabaptist) A German sect of adult baptizers Tended towards socialism Everyone hated them.  Manichees (Martin) Believed that good and evil were equally matched and equally important. An official Catholic "heresy"--you could get burned for it.

Themes and Symbols Eden / Paradise  Westphalia  The garden El Dorado What is this novel saying about…?  War  Wealth  Civilized society  Organized religion  Aristocracy and class levels

So? “While it is a ferocious attack on philosophical optimism, Candide is not a pessimistic work, for it proclaims the human capacity to survive the worst calamities and to endure and even prosper in a world replete with war, cruelty, misery, persecution, and religious intolerance” --Gita May