coddled youth, to an independent thinker. It is within this story that Voltaire uses singular characters to criticize different social groups, the most prominent example being the character of Pangloss, which will be explored later in the essay. Voltaire's Candide is a harsh, satirical criticism of contemporary society, particularly Leibnizian optimism, religious institutions,
In Voltaire’s novella, Candide, the master of lessons and philosophy uses his belief in Optimism as a shelter, a defense, and an excuse for his existence. Pangloss, the professor of “meatphysico-theologico-cosmolo-nigology” (Voltaire, pg. 1), holds fast to a philosophy that excuses all the evils in the universe. This philosophy called Optimism allows Pangloss to experience the freedoms and foibles of the world without any cause or commitment. His blanket retort of “there is not effect without a cause”
philosophical and empiricist traditions of philosophy. Another enlightment thinker Immanuel Kant tried to reconcile rationalism and religious belief, individual freedom and political authority, as well as map out a view of the public sphere through private and public
Voltaire’s novella Candide, thoroughly satirizes many aspects of society in 1700s Europe, but one of the more significant ideals that Voltaire satirizes is the church. Written in 1759, his novella was produced during the age of Enlightenment. This historical era greatly impacted the events and what was satirized in the the novella Candide. The Enlightenment was also the time period where the authority of the church was most questioned. During the 1700s the most popular religious systems were Christianity
necessarily be a bad thing? Most would not think so, but having a positive outlook on everything is not such a great thing either. When the perception of a situation is one sided, meaning always optimistic or always pessimistic, it is never good. In Voltaire’s Candide, Voltaire shows the reader how optimism can easily become a satire through the utilization of the two primary characters in the story: Pangloss and Candide. Both Pangloss and Candide are optimists, and see the majority of situations on the
Colonization and Savagery in Candide During the time of the Enlightenment, Rousseau’s philosophies on civilization and its ills on humanity helped propagate and popularize the Noble Savage.” The noble savage was the belief that since non-Europeans were not as exposed to European civilization and “progression”, they better people (Backman 2013). Voltaire, despite his intense rivalry with Rousseau, seems to believe in something similar if not, the exact same thing. The chapters of Candide that are
stories they were among the unhappiest people. Even though Candide questioned his beliefs numerous times throughout the story, he still believed in the philosophy of optimism and that every man has free will. However, Candide starts to doubt that maybe the philosophy of optimism is not the answer when he meets the Turk, a man who devotes his philosophy to working on a small farm with his children and ignoring external events. The Turk shows him one should just mind their own business while taking care