Voltaire in the Age of Reason

Great Thinkers / Brief Biography

Voltaire was one of the leading thinkers of the 18th century's Age of Enlightenment. A philosopher, writer, deist, essayist and satirist, he is famous for Philosophical Letters and Candide. Politically and socially engaged, Voltaire was the archetypal rational humanist of the enlightenment era.  In Candide, he satirizes mankind's blind optimism, in part, a reaction to the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Early Years

Voltaire, whose real name is Francois-Marie Arouet, (1694-1778), was born to a wealthy family on November 21 in Paris. Intended for the legal profession, he went to a college run by Jesuit priests studying law but rebelled against his family's wishes to pursue a literary career.

He was imprisoned in the Bastille for penning libelous poems, during which time he wrote tragedies and adopted the name of Voltaire. After a second spell in prison, he quit France for England to avoid more trouble, where he came under the lasting influence of the works of Locke and Newton.

Influence of Locke and Newton

Following Locke and Newton, Voltaire championed reason over superstition and, thinking he held deistic beliefs, denounced the power of the clergy. Out of this came  what proved to be his greatest intellectual project of his time, the Encyclopaedia edited by Diderot and Jean d'Alembert. The Encyclopaedia was to cause more controversy for Voltaire. It was considered to be a challenge to faith by encouraging people to look to the power of reason.

The Age of Reason

Voltaire's constant criticism of the Catholic Church and the French government got him into serious trouble. He became a strong voice for freedom of expression, alongside his championing of reason. He wrote many satires on what he saw as the abuse of power by society's elite, inevitably bringing himself deeper into conflict with society's elite.

In his Philosophical Dictionary, he views religion as he relates it to the qualities of a theist: "…for the simple worship of a God has preceded all the systems of the world. He speaks a language that all peoples understand, while they do not understand one another."It is small wonder the Church found him vexatious.

But Voltaire's interests were much wider than theology. During his time in England, he had also greatly admired the English constitution. 

 

Related Link

Leonard Bernstein's Candide. An operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the 1759 novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to Voltaire's novel. 

 

Voltaire's Legacy

As a philosopher, Voltaire is not by his own work particularly original. However, he must be included in any Western thought for the enormous influence of his writings. Voltaire did more than any philosopher to popularize and instigate 'the age of reason.' His style is always readable, provocative and witty. He had enormous influence on European society long after his death.

Works by Voltaire

Charles XII, 1731

Philosophical Letters, 1733

Treatise on Metaphysics, 1734

Semiramis, 1748

Candide, 1759

A Treatise on Toleration, 1763

Tancredi, 1760

Philosophical Dictionary, 1764

Irene, 1778 

Suggest Audio Listening:
Literature - Voltaire.  Accessed November 21, 2018.



Photo Credit:

Voltaire / NNDB, Public Domain 


Audio Credit:

Voltaire. Full AudioBooks. Accessed November 21, 2018.

 

Resources:

1. Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una Mcgovern, Chambers (2002)

2. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary, edited by John Clark, Chancellor Press (1994)

3. Philosophy, the Great Thinkers, by Philip Stokes, Capella (2007)

Note: I published the original article for Suite101.com, March 18, 2008.  

(c) November 2010.  Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.