Voltaire: Belief in Equality or Riddled with Prejudice?
François-Marie Arouet, best known as Voltaire, was born in Paris, France in 1694 and is revered as one of the greatest philosophical writers of the Enlightenment Period. Known as a vocal proponent espousing the Enlightenment philosophies, Voltaire’s countless hours creating works sheds light onto injustices, inequality, and lack of freedoms many in societies experience. Although the exact number of literary works by Voltaire’s is unknown, infamous works such as Candide (1759) earns him a place in history as one of the greatest, most influential literary philosophers in the world. However, one can question if Voltaire’s beliefs follow that of other Enlightenment philosophers or if he is …show more content…
Despite his opposition to organized religion, he believes there is a usefulness for it when it comes to the lower class as they are incapable of developing morals and virtues without the teachings being provided by the church. Moreover, while he is a strong proponent of education, he has no interest in educating the lower class and implies it is a waste of time and resources in his statement “When the populace meddles in reasoning, all is lost.” However, Voltaire does have a high regard for scholars and fellow philosophers and sheds them in a much better light than most other members of society, even stating that “History should be written as philosophy.” This admiration for philosophers above all others is another theme seen throughout the story Candide (1759). Not only is Candide a scholar of philosophy, his great teacher, Pangloss, is revered as the wisest of philosophers, and each time Candide comes across new characters during his venture, those that are scholars or philosophers are giving higher regards and stature in the story. Even when Candide was choosing a companion at one point of his travels, out of all the applicants, he chose the only philosopher as he “hoped the scholar would prove more amusing on the voyage.”( pg
François-Marie Arouet, best known as Voltaire, was born in Paris, France in 1694 and is revered as one of the greatest philosophical writers of the Enlightenment Period. Known as a vocal proponent espousing the Enlightenment philosophies, Voltaire’s countless hours creating works sheds light onto injustices, inequality, and lack of freedoms many in societies experience. Although the exact number of literary works by Voltaire’s is unknown, infamous works such as Candide (1759) earns him a place in history as one of the greatest, most influential literary philosophers in the world. However, one can question if Voltaire’s beliefs follow that of other Enlightenment philosophers or if he is …show more content…
Despite his opposition to organized religion, he believes there is a usefulness for it when it comes to the lower class as they are incapable of developing morals and virtues without the teachings being provided by the church. Moreover, while he is a strong proponent of education, he has no interest in educating the lower class and implies it is a waste of time and resources in his statement “When the populace meddles in reasoning, all is lost.” However, Voltaire does have a high regard for scholars and fellow philosophers and sheds them in a much better light than most other members of society, even stating that “History should be written as philosophy.” This admiration for philosophers above all others is another theme seen throughout the story Candide (1759). Not only is Candide a scholar of philosophy, his great teacher, Pangloss, is revered as the wisest of philosophers, and each time Candide comes across new characters during his venture, those that are scholars or philosophers are giving higher regards and stature in the story. Even when Candide was choosing a companion at one point of his travels, out of all the applicants, he chose the only philosopher as he “hoped the scholar would prove more amusing on the voyage.”( pg