Pondering Evil with Voltaire: Candide

Books that Lead to Philosophical Reflections…

If God exists and is good, why is there evil in the world? This question, which troubles the minds of many believers, is one of the arguments commonly used by anti-theists.

The Enlightenment thinker Voltaire, in his novel Candide, mocks the problem of God and evil by criticizing the philosopher Gottfried Leibniz. Leibniz defended theodicy, the defense of God, claiming that this world is the best of all possible worlds.

In contrast to Leibniz’s assertion, Voltaire depicts Candide, the main character, on an endless journey filled with suffering. At the end of his long and arduous adventure, Candide arrives in Istanbul, where he realizes he has been mistaken and that the idea that evil exists for the sake of a greater good is not true. If life seems meaningless after reading this, I would like to point out that Candide (in my opinion) finds a good answer to the question of what he will do with his life. I won’t reveal the answer; I don’t want to spoil the excitement of reading the book!