Voltaire’s Candide
Introduction
Enlightenment
• 18th century
• Emergence of scientific explanations for
things, caused an overriding of superstition
and religious beliefs
• A time of skeptism and questioning of the
world
• Ideas on government and how to organize
society began to develop
Philosophical Questions of the
Time
• Why do bad things happen in the world?
• What/where is the origin of evil?
• If there is a god, does he control evil and
good in the world?
• Do men have free will or are they
controlled by fate or an all-knowing god?
Voltaire 1694-1778
• Voltaire was considered: practical, energetic, witty,
charming, contemplative, highly intellectual,
outspoken with a sense of humor
• He didn’t just write, but acted on his ideals
• Sent to prison for gentlemen – the Bastille - for 1
year because of inflammatory writing about Louis
XIV’s regime
• Known as one of the great liberal minds of the
Enlightenment
• Became famous for the phrase “ecrasez l’infame”,
which translated means to “wipe out corruption in
high places”
• Spent most of his life in exile
Topics of his writing
• Voltaire wrote about: the evils of the
church, philosophy, and politics
• He revealed the hypocrisy and corruption
of these institutions.
Candide
• Voltaire wrote Candide at age 65 in three
days
• Makes fun of the absurdities of the human
race
• Considered imaginative, subtle, witty,
charming, touching at times, and
extremely funny
• Good example of “his power to knock
mankind on his head and reassure him at
the same time”
Philosophical Tale
• Very specialized genre quite popular in the 18th
century ex. Gulliver’s Travels
• Should not be read realistically, the purpose is
not to present a verisimilitude of life (as in a
novel)
• Work of satire and parody
• Intended to use humor to criticize a philosophical
position
Philosophical Tales test a certain
philosophical position
• Ex. Gulliver’s Travels tests the proposition
that humans are “rational animals”
• Ex. Candide tests the proposition that this
is the best of all possible worlds also
known as the philosophy of Optimism
Optimism
• Formalized in the 18th century by Gottfreid
Wilhelm von Leibnitz
• Popularized by Alexander Pope
Voltaire satirized current events
in Candide
• 1746 earthquake in Lima, Peru
• 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, Spain where
50,000 people were killed
• Seven Years’ War
• Execution of Admiral Byng in 1747
• War between France and England for
Canadian territory
Voltaire’s Legacy
• Reputation for standing up for integrity
• Legendary for supporting people no matter their
birth or station in life
• Wrote about Enlightenment ideas in a way for the
common man to understand
• Stood up and debunked the foolish fads and
fancies of humanity
• Unmasked people and institutions that held the
power to tell people what to think or not to think