Voltaire's largest philosophical work was the "Dictionnaire philosophique" ("Philosophical Dictionary"), published in 1764 and comprising articles contributed by him to the "Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers" ("Encyclopedia, or a systematic dictionary of the sciences, arts and crafts") (1751 - 1772) and several minor pieces. It directed criticisms at French political institutions, Voltaire's personal enemies, the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church.
He is remembered and honoured in France as a courageous polemicist who indefatigably fought for civil rights (the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and freedom of religion) and who denounced the hypocrisies and injustices of the Ancien Régime, which involved an …show more content…
He saw an enlightened monarch or absolutist (a benevolent despotism, similar to that advocated by Plato), advised by philosophers like himself, as the only way to bring about necessary change, arguing that it was in the monarch's rational interest to improve the power and wealth of his subjects and …show more content…
He did not believe that absolute faith, based upon any particular or singular religious text or tradition of revelation, was needed to believe in God. He wrote, "It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason". Indeed, his focus on the idea of a universe based on reason and a respect for nature reflected the Pantheism which was increasingly popular throughout the 17th and 18th
He is remembered and honoured in France as a courageous polemicist who indefatigably fought for civil rights (the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and freedom of religion) and who denounced the hypocrisies and injustices of the Ancien Régime, which involved an …show more content…
He saw an enlightened monarch or absolutist (a benevolent despotism, similar to that advocated by Plato), advised by philosophers like himself, as the only way to bring about necessary change, arguing that it was in the monarch's rational interest to improve the power and wealth of his subjects and …show more content…
He did not believe that absolute faith, based upon any particular or singular religious text or tradition of revelation, was needed to believe in God. He wrote, "It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason". Indeed, his focus on the idea of a universe based on reason and a respect for nature reflected the Pantheism which was increasingly popular throughout the 17th and 18th