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.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Philosophy / Philosophers Datebook: June 28

 

Brief biography of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a leading philosopher and writer of the 18^th century Age of Enlightenment and period of Romanticism, known for The Social Contract and Emile, or Treatise on Education.

 

 

 

Jean Jacques Rousseau, Swiss leading philosopher of the Enlightenment and a writer, pioneer of the Romantic Movement in continental philosophy.  He is famous for his books The Social Contract and Emile, (or Treatise on Education, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, and Confessions).  

Early years

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28, 1712, in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of a watchmaker. When his mother died at his birth, his father hardly showed any interest in him. Aged 16, he ran away from Geneva and wandered around Europe until his late 20s. He was taken in the private care of a Madame de Warens where he took to reading, study and eventually after few years got a job as secretary to the French Ambassador in Venice.

Rousseau became acquainted with the leading writers and celebrities of the time including Voltaire and Denis Diderot, who was chief editor of the Encyclopedia that time. Through Diderot, Rousseau received work writing for the encyclopedia that began to appear in 1751.

Despite his success as a writer, he only started his first book when he was nearly 40 years old. He fell out with almost everyone upon his publication of The Social Contract, including the Government of France, the Protestants and Catholics, and with Madame Françoise-Louise de Warens, who had become his mistress by this time. He even quarreled with his one-time friend, David Hume in England. 

 

 Rousseau Philosophy: The Social Contract and the General Will

The Social Contract starts with the famous opening line: “Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.” In this work, he provides a blueprint for the ideal society, in contrast to his earlier books, Emile and The Origin of Inequality. Rousseau envisions a liberated society. He argues that when people live in social groups, their freedom to follow their own interests must be limited to the general will of the group to which they belong. He further claims that injustice is a result of institutions or the so-called “civilized” group of people (society) which suppress or corrupt the natural will and ability of men.    

Rousseau also introduces the “general will” which he defines as the will of all those directed to their own common interests and distinct from “the will of all” which is merely the consolidation of individual selfish wills.

The general will, however, appears to generate a force that is greater than the sum of its parts. What is often missing in the interpretation is the way he sees it: there can be no disharmony between the interests of the sovereign and that of the people, since by definition, the sovereign is constituted from the people.  This is most unlikely.

Insight to Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau is one of the outstanding figures of French literature and philosophy. A contemporary of Voltaire, he lived during the Age of Enlightenment, with its social upheavals and romanticism. In his philosophy and writings, he discusses political philosophy and believes the environment has a great part in shaping people and society. The Social Contract of Jean-Jacques Rousseau inspired the French Revolution with its famous catchphrase "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité." 

He died at the age of 66, July 2, 1778. 

 

Photo Credit:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain. (Painted portrait). Unknown source.  

 

Resources:

Clark, John, Ed. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary. London: Chancellor Press, 1994

McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers, Harrap Publishers, 2002

Stokes, Philip. Philosophy: The Great Thinkers. London: Arcturus Publishing, 2007

 

(c) June 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Sören Kierkegaard

Great Philosophers Datebook: May 5

 

Brief biography and philosophies of Danish Philosopher Sören Kierkegaard, father of Existentialism, known for the “leap of faith” and the book, Either/Or.

"To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner, put yourself in his place so that you may understand what he understands and the way he understands it." - Søren Kierkegaard

Sören Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher considered the father of Christian existentialism and a great influence to Sartre.  His writings fall into three periods – the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious. As founder of Christian existentialism, he believed that God is known only by a “leap of faith,” which is a leap into the eternal and irrational.

 

Born on May 5, 1813, in Copenhagen where he spent all his life, Sören Kierkegaard was the seventh and last child. His father was a wool merchant who at first cursed God, but later in life, had a pietistic faith as he contemplated Christ’s sufferings. It was his father’s faith that had a deep effect on Sören and how he viewed the world.      

In 1830, he entered the University of Copenhagen, where he studied philosophy, theology and literature. On his mother’s death four years later, he decided to move away from home, he thought the only way he’ll know what to do with his life was to know himself.  He worked as a Latin teacher, and when his father died in 1838, the money he inherited was enough to keep him independent all his life.

Kierkegaard’s Philosophies on Aesthetics, Ethics and Religion  
    

Kierkegaard was engaged to Regine Olsen, but broke the relationship, devoting himself to writing instead.  Fearing the ethical commitment of the institution of marriage, he remained a scholarly bachelor. He considered marriage and domestic responsibility incompatible with philosophical tasks.

His earliest and first significant work, On the Concept of Irony, (his 1841 dissertation), proved a masterful criticism of the philosophy of George W. Hegel, in which he attacked philosophical system building.  Instead, he formulated the thesis that subjectivity is truth. He argued that each individual has the freedom to choose his own truth on the subjective basis of faith.  His main point was the belief in a person’s immortality. This was in conflict with Hegel who created the “Absolute Spirit” that denies the personality of God.      

On religious belief, Kierkegaard held this to be a matter of passion not reason, that even when a person might indulge in proof of God’s existence, the way of Aquinas or Anselm, it has nothing to do with belief in God as an intellectual exercise, but rather a choice to believe in God passionately. 
    

Kierkegaard’s Final Years

In later years, his personality became a target of attack, both in satirical magazines and in public ridicule. In 1848, he had spiritual crisis and started to ponder on death. He also held a sermon at the cathedral. In his last few years he published a series of articles, some under a pseudonym, and compiled them as Attack Upon Christendom. 

Kierkegaard was stricken with a spinal disease and died on November 11, 1855. He was 42.  He deeply affected theologians and Existential philosophy in the second quarter of the 20th century. Like Nietzsche, Kierkegaard was lonely and neurotic. He opposed all strict philosophical constructions, and hid his thoughts under pseudonyms. A prolific writer, he published some thirty books.

Books by Sören Kierkegaard

Either/Or, 1843

Repetition, 1843

Fear and Trembling, 1843

Stages on Life’s Way, 1845

The Concept of Dread, 1844

Concluding Unscientific Postscript, 1846   


Photo Credit:

S. Kierkegaard. In Public Domain.
Sketch of Søren Kierkegaard. Based on a sketch by Niels Christian Kierkegaard (1806-1882).
Copyright expired as artist died more than 70 years ago. (Accessed:  May 5, 2017)

 
Resources:
 

Clark, John, Ed. Illustrated Biographical Dictionary.  London: Chancellor Press, 1994

McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary, Edinburgh: Chambers, 2002
Soren Kierkegaard. en.wikipedia.org 

Stokes, Philip.  Philosophy: The Great Thinkers. Capella, 2007  

Note: This abridged piece was originally written for Suite101.com (now close) August 9, 2010.

(c) May 2010. Updated May 5, 2017. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Francis Bacon

Philosophy / Science Philosophers Datebook: January 22

 

A brief biography of the philosophy and works of English philosopher, statesman, lawyer and essayist Francis Bacon. His best known books include The Advancement of Learning, Novum Organum and New Atlantis. He's famous for the popular quote “Knowledge is power.”

 

 

 

English philosopher of science, statesman and essayist Sir Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Alban (b. January 22, 1561, The Strand, London - d. April 9, 1626, Highgate, Middlesex), was the forerunner of the famed British school of philosophers that include Locke, Berkeley, Hume, J.S. Mill and Bertrand Russell. His important works include Novum Organum, The Advancement of Learning, and New Atlantis.

Francis Bacon became a Chancellor after King James I’s succession of Queen Elizabeth I. Attributed as the originator of the saying “knowledge is power,” his importance as a philosopher is most notable with regard to his concern for scientific method.

 

Bacon’s Logic Away from Plato and Aristotle

Bacon was troubled by the two schools of thoughts, Platonism and Aristotelian: Platonism – by which knowledge could be gained by examining content and meaning of words, and Aristotelian – by which intent was on collecting masses of empirical data.

Bacon moved away from the ideas of Plato and Aristotle and advocated a science based on observation and inductive hypothesis.

 

Bacon’s Philosophy of Inductive Empiricism

Bacon was concerned with the problem of induction. The main problem of induction was that the mere repetitive occurrence of an incident does not guarantee that the same thing will happen again. Bacon responded to this problem by placing the emphasis of investigation on looking for negative instances of disconfirm hypotheses, rather than finding ways to confirm them. Despite his detractors, he greatly influenced later 20^th century philosopher Karl Popper who produced his falsificationist scientific methodology.   

Bacon’s hypothesis was later strongly refuted by David Hume. However, Bacon was less interested in the problem of justifying inductive generalizations, but in how to generate good inductive hypotheses out of the masses of data collected by observation. He argued that what was needed was a new way of collating and organizing data, which would help generate inductive hypotheses.  

His method was undoubtedly one way of applying order to a body of data, however, it was unlikely to fulfill his desire to find a systematic way of deriving scientific hypotheses from the data arrangement.

 

An Insight to Bacon’s Philosophy

His concern for scientific method was immense. Francis Bacon argued that nature could only be understood through systematic experimentation, and controlled only by being understood. He contained the notion of cataloguing all useful knowledge.    

His important contribution to science philosophy and in particular, the problem of induction, was by being the first to emphasize the importance of negative situations.    

Works by Francis Bacon

• Novum Organum or Novum Organon, 1620, contains Bacon's views in the correct methods of investigating nature.
• On the Dignity and Advancement of Learning, 1623, Bacon divides knowledge to three categories: history, poetry or literature, and philosophy.
• The New Atlantis, 1627, describes the revolutionary idea of a scientific research centre where researchers collect data and perform actual experiements, eventually applying their knowledge to produce useful things for humankind.   
  

Photo Credit:

Francis Bacon.  Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain.

 

Resources:

McGovern, Una, Ed. Biographical Dictionary, 7^th Ed.  Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2002

Stokes, Philip. Philosophy, the Great Thinkers. London: Capella, 2007

Bullock, Alan and R.B. Woodings, Ed. Dictionary of Modern Thinkers. London: Fontana, 1983

 

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

Socrates

Philosophers Datebook / Date of birth unknown

Brief biography of Greek philosopher Socrates, famous for Socratic Method, a way of argumentation and questioning. He's considered the Founder of Ethics.

By Plato's account, Socrates was a larger-than life figure who valued wisdom and who detached from materialistic wealth. Interested in ethics or moral philosophy, and epistemology, Socrates is often quoted with: "The only thing I know is that I know nothing."  

 

Life of Socrates

Socrates lived through great political upheaval in his birthplace of Athens. He was born c. 469/470 BC and died 399 BC. Much of what is known about him comes through the works of his one time pupil Plato as Socrates himself was an itinerant philosopher. He primarily taught by means of public discussions and never wrote any philosophical works of his own.

Philosophy and the Socratic Method

Unlike the Greek philosophers before him, Socrates was less concerned with abstract metaphysical thoughts than with practical questions of how we ought to live, and what the good life for man might be. For this, he was consequently hailed as the founder of that branch of philosophy known as ethics. It was this concern with ethical matters that led him into conflict with the city elders. He was often accused of corrupting the minds of the sons of the wealthy with his revolutionary and unorthodox ideas and ways.

Much of his teaching consisted in using his audience to define various common ideas and notions, such as 'beauty,' or 'good,', only to show through reasoned argument that all of the proposed definitions and common conceptions lead to paradox or absurdity.

Some of his critics and contemporaries thought that his technique was disingenuous, that he knew more than he let on. It is primarily through this influence from him that philosophy developed into the modern discipline of continuous critical reflection. He thought it is the suspension of critical thought that endangers both the individual and society.

Last Years

Loved by the city's aristocratic youth, Socrates inevitably made enemies. When he was about 70, he was brought to trial on charges of 'corrupting the youth.'  It would seem that the charges were brought primarily to persuade him to renounce his characteristic provocative public speaking. With a plea of guilty He might have walked away from the trial and lived out the rest of his life as a private citizen, all with a plea of guilty, but he did not, instead, he defended himself, enraging the elders.   

A greater majority voted for Socrates to be put to death. He readily agreed to abide by the laws of his city and forbade his family and friends not to intercede on his behalf. His subsequent death was immortalized in the account of his pupil, Plato.        

Interesting Readings:  

Socrates wrote no philosophical works, and we rely on other writers especially Plato. Three key works by Plato are:

Apology – Socrates' defense speech when he was put on trial for supposed impiety and allegedly corrupting the young people of Athens.

Crito – Consists of a conversation between Socrates and Crito, in which Socrates explains his ethical views.

Phaedo – Recounting Socrates' final hours after being sentenced to death at the trial, including his views on death and immortality.

 

Photo Credit:

Socrates. Wikipedia Commons / Portrait of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Lysippos.

 

Resources:

Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers, 2002

Illustrated Biographical Dictionary, edited by John Clark, Chancellor Press, 1994

Philosophy, the Great Thinkers, by Philip Stokes, Capella, 2007

Socrates. en.wikipedia.og 

(c) June 2009. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

George Berkeley Philosophy

George Berkeley was an 18th century thinker famous for "to be is to be perceived" and Principles of Human Knowledge, his greatest work.

Irish philosopher and Bishop of Cloyne, George Berkeley (March 12, 1685 – January 14, 1753) is renowned as the father of philosophical idealism, who showed that the materialism of John Locke and Isaac Newton was unsustainable. His most famous adage is "esse est percipi" ("to be is to be perceived").