Voltaire
Comparatively to other philosophers outlined in this publication, Voltaire may be lesser known for his singular ideas but we know him rather under the auspice of the Enlightenment. Ideas he put forth in his lifetime changed the course of French history and that of the world
His Life and Ideas
Voltaire’s ideas are less discussed today due to the simple fact that religion (and monarchies) play a diminished role in the world. He challenged the Church to great effect; he is the embodiment of the Enlightenment. Napoleon said that Voltaire had destroyed France and that the “Bourbons might have preserved themselves if they had controlled writing materials. The advent of cannon killed the feudal system; ink will kill the modern social organization.” I would suggest that some of writing also tore down feudal systems of thinking.
Voltaire set out to write not about the conventional ways of reporting about events through the acts of the monarchs nor to assemble the facts of the events, but to develop a unifying principle “by which the whole history of civilization of Europe could be woven in one thread”: the history of culture. He completely altered the formal study of history at the time to focus not on kings, but on movements and forces; not on nations but on the human race. He wished to know how nations went from barbarianism to civilization. These terms are dated, but nevertheless paved the way for other histories such as Gibbon who wrote a detailed account of Roman history.
Voltaire’s writing gained notoriety and caught the eye of a certain monarch named Frederic the Great. He applauded the enlightenment of the ruler of Prussia and lived abroad from France in the Prussian’s court. However, while the Frederic the Great admired the work of Voltaire, he would go on to instigated wars Voltaire vehemently opposed. Living in his court and writing plays infuriating the king forced Voltaire into exile.
Regardless of his predicament, Voltaire wrote the play Candide — the story of a vagabond man traveling the world — which has an illuminating passage highlighting his philosophical mind at work. The passage is as follows:
“Do you believe” said Candide, “that men have always massacred one another as they do today, that the have always been liars, cheats, traitors, ingrates, brigands, idiots, thieves, scoundrels, gluttons, drunkards, misers, envious, ambitious, bloody-minded, calumniators debauchees, fanatics, hypocrites and fools”
“Do you believe,” said Martin “that hawks have always eaten pigeons when they have found them?” “Without doubt”, said Candide. Well then, said Martin, “if hawks have always had the same character, why should you imagine that men have changed theirs?”¹
If his plays weren’t enough to ignite a revolutionary flame, appalled by the murder of an innocent man by the Church, Voltaire set about creating the Treatise on Toleration, a massive propaganda aimed against the Catholic religion. He wrote at a pace unprecedented through a multitude of content forms on the destructive nature of religion. This culmination of his work set the stage for the French Revolution. It was once said by a contemporary historian that the effects of the revolution have yet to fully materialized. We have yet to understand and appreciate the true depth of Voltaire’s work.
Reference
- Candide. 104
