Voltaire’s Candide is one of the most famous works of the Enlightenment. Voltaire questions a huge variety of ideas and social establishments through his satire, including the philosophy of Optimism promoted by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. It is generally accepted that Candide disputes Leibniz ' optimism; there are many instances that indicate this in the text, especially surrounding the Eldorado episode.
Optimism is the idea that God created the “best of all possible worlds” (Leibniz 228), and that the presence of evil is not something that God cooperates in but is something that God merely permits and directs at good (183). He makes the assumption that “we have no need of revealed faith to know that there is such a sole principle of things …show more content…
At first glance, it seems that the land of Eldorado flies in the face of optimism by being a better world than the one of Candide and Cacambo, contradicting the notion that “we live in the best of possible worlds.” When they leave Eldorado and see the contrast between the peaceful, pastoral land of Eldorado and the horrors of the real world, especially the abused slave they meet on the road, Candide exclaims “Oh Pangloss! . . . you had no notion of these abominations! I 'm through, I must give up your optimism after all!” (“Candide” 40). The perfection of Eldorado provides a stark contrast to the horrible events of the rest of the …show more content…
Do we give up mental freedom for peace, intellectual stimulation for the protection of an benevolent king? Or is it best to be free at the expense of some security (as Benjamin Franklin would argue)? As long as these questions of what is the best world remain unresolved and unresolvable, there is no way Optimism can apply to the entire
Optimism is the idea that God created the “best of all possible worlds” (Leibniz 228), and that the presence of evil is not something that God cooperates in but is something that God merely permits and directs at good (183). He makes the assumption that “we have no need of revealed faith to know that there is such a sole principle of things …show more content…
At first glance, it seems that the land of Eldorado flies in the face of optimism by being a better world than the one of Candide and Cacambo, contradicting the notion that “we live in the best of possible worlds.” When they leave Eldorado and see the contrast between the peaceful, pastoral land of Eldorado and the horrors of the real world, especially the abused slave they meet on the road, Candide exclaims “Oh Pangloss! . . . you had no notion of these abominations! I 'm through, I must give up your optimism after all!” (“Candide” 40). The perfection of Eldorado provides a stark contrast to the horrible events of the rest of the …show more content…
Do we give up mental freedom for peace, intellectual stimulation for the protection of an benevolent king? Or is it best to be free at the expense of some security (as Benjamin Franklin would argue)? As long as these questions of what is the best world remain unresolved and unresolvable, there is no way Optimism can apply to the entire