Voltaire

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Voltaire's Candide and the Enlightenment

It is true that Voltaire is considered to be one of the greatest figures to come out of the 18th Century Enlightenment. Voltaire is one of the first to establish new ways of thinking and to present new ways to express ones ideas. As we have learned, the Enlightenment is considered to be the beginning of the spread of Western thought and culture. It was a movement that brought out a wide variety of ideas and advances in the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine in the 18th century. As stated in the textbook, "Voltaire virtually personified the Enlightenment (Western Civilizations pg. 651)." Voltaire's themes were of religious and political liberty, and he argued for common sense and simplicity. He persuaded that these themes would help bring out the goodness in humanity and establish stable authority. In Voltaire's Candide, we can find many examples of how Voltaire can be considered a "modern" thinker, and how there are some examples of how he might not yet be so "modern". By examining the common themes and some of the major characters throughout Candide, we can determine whether or not Voltaire is a "modern" think or not.

We can first determine if Voltaire is a "modern" thinker or not is by examining some of the characters in the novel. First we can start off with the main character Candide. Candide, in the beginning is completely innocent and unfamiliar with the ways of the world. His only way to view the world around him, come from the ideas of his teacher Pangloss. Throughout Candide's journey, he stays faithful to Pangloss's optimistic teachings, until the end. In the end, Candide starts to reject Pangloss's philosophies, and starts to accept those of the farmer in chapter . Although there is finally a sense of progress made in Candide, he is personally unchanged. He is still unable to form his own opinions. In this example, he has just changed his mind between Pangloss and the farmer; he has still not developed his own opinions.

Next we have Pangloss. Pangloss is very important because he introduces the idea that that all is for the best in this "best of all possible worlds (Candide, pg 0)." This statement is one that probably best represents the thoughts and ideas of the Enlightenment, and Voltaire targets this statement to form this satire. Pangloss is compared to the Enlightenment philosopher G. W. von Leibriz. He believed that an all-good, all-power full God had created the world and that, therefore the world must be perfect, and that when humans perceive something as wrong or evil, it is because they do not understand the ultimate good that the evil is meant to serve. One of Pangloss's philosophies is that if the world is the best one possible, then there is no reason to make any efforts to change what we think is wrong or evil. An example of this philosophy is when Candide, Pangloss, and the Anti-Baptist are traveling to Lisbon, Pangloss prevents Candide from helping the Anti-Baptist when he is drowning in the bay. Pangloss says "that the Lisbon harbor was made on purpose for this Anti-Baptist to drown there (Candide, pg. )."

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With Cacambo, Voltaire wants to establish a sense of confidence and hope for Candide. Cacambo is used to give Candide hope in the sense that he will accomplish his journey, and he helps deliver confidence in him. He is there also to provide the idea that experience is a key factor in learning. He also tries to get Candide to somewhat find his intelligence and to use it to help him form his own opinions.

By Voltaire's use of these characters, I feel that he is somewhat of a "modern" thinker. With the example Candide, I feel that his character is a very modern one. Even today people act just like Candide. We are all unaware of the world around us, and we try to follow those who teach us. It takes us a very long time to start to form are own opinions and to truly follow them. I think that a lot of us just go with the flow and form opinions of others, just because we think that it is the right thing to do. Many Enlightenment thinkers express the idea that we need to develop out own thoughts and express our true feelings. This is a new concept in the early 18th century. People were afraid to share their own opinions on topics of religion and government, because they were afraid of what might happen to them. Philosophers such as Voltaire helped make this a reality during the Enlightenment. I feel very strongly that Voltaire is a modern thinker when it comes to him criticizing the idea that we must act upon what we think is wrong or evil. I feel that this example is a very modern one.

The second way we can try to distinguish whether Voltaire is a modern thinker is by discussing some of the themes in the novel. The first theme is the one of optimism. Pangloss and Candide maintain that "everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Once again this idea was one that many Enlightenment thinkers went by. Voltaire doesn't accept that a perfect God has to exist. This is why he makes fun of the idea that the world must be completely good. Pangloss and Candide experience and witness many horrible things that either happened to them or someone else. Pangloss realizes that these misfortunes do not serve any apparent good to anyone. Therefore by the end of the novel, he must admit to himself that he doesn't believe his own optimistic conclusions.

The next theme is the corrupting power of money. After Cnadide becomes a wealthy man in Eldorado, everything seems to somewhat go down hill. After believing that everything is going to go well for him after acquiring his new fortune, Candide becomes even more unhappy than before. After the misfortunes that happen to Candide, he realizes some of the problems that money can cause. Because he is now rich, there are people that try to trick him and steal from him. This make Candide realize that money and power causes just as many problems as it solves.

I think that these themes are definitely modern in the sense that they are still themes that happen in today's society, especially the theme of the corruption of money. Many people feel that the only solution to a lot of their problems has to do with how much money they have. People feel that power equals wealth, and that all theirs problems will be solved if they became wealthy. Voltaire favored the poor, because I think that he felt that they were true to themselves. They didn't need power or money to live a good life. I think that when people become wealthy the lose focus on what is right and wrong. They tend to live a fake life and don't live by their true values.

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