Francois-Marie Arouet, commonly known as Voltaire (21 November, 1694 – 30 May, 1778), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher. Along with a few other philosophers, Voltaire was one of the most prominent Enlightenment figures; being the advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and etc., his ideas and thoughts heavily influenced both the French and the American Revolution.
Voltaire was born in 1694, to a well-established family, with a public official father, and a well-educated aristocratic mother. With the benefit of family background, Voltaire was able to acquire a first-class education in France and was exposed to literature and political favors at a young age. From a young age, Voltaire had always wanted to be a playwright, but his father wanted to install his son in a public official position, so Voltaire tried to satisfy his father by going to lawyer school, then working as a lawyer’s apprentice; and finally as a French diplomat’s secretary. However, in each case, he abandoned his job. In order to escape his obligations, Voltaire retreated to the libertine sociability in Paris in the 1720s. Here, in the culturally vibrant period of time, he was able to establish himself as an independent letters man. During this period of his life, Voltaire, along with other intellects, met often at the La Source, where he was introduced to natural and English philosophy, through the works of John Locke, Newton and etc. Following this period of time, Voltaire spent a brief three years in exile in London, where he deepened his understanding of philosophy and matured his identity as a philosopher. In 1729, Voltaire returned to Paris, under the permission of French officials and after solving his financial problems, Voltaire gradually reconciled with and resettled back into the French society. However, his philosophical worked continued throughout the rest of his life.
On nature of man:
98% of the people were poor and had no control over the government, while 2% were rich and had total control. This thought made Voltaire believd that people were self-interested, and selfish. Human are also born sinful as people try to believe everything Is for the best, they begin ignoring true and real problems. He related most of his ideas from his experiences, and over the years, it shaped who he was.
In 1716, Voltaire was arrested and exiled from Paris for 5 months. From 1717 to 1718 he was imprisoned in the Bastille for lampoons of the Regency. During the time he spent in prison, he wrote a play called Candide which brought him to fame, but it didn’t lessen the number of enemies he has in court.
On Society and government:
Unlike many radical philosophers of the day, Voltaire didn’t like the idea of a republic and therefore, did not favor “grassroots democracy”. Voltaire was strongly against intolerance; discrimination; and abuse of power, so throughout his life, he waged a personal war for justice. His ideal was that the monarch should treat all citizens with equal fairness and justice; however, this did not seem possible at the time. Voltaire’s reason for supporting a constitutional monarchy (as opposed to a republic) was that a country needed a strong central leadership because without it, the country would fall apart.
On human right's:
Voltaire always had a view on the ideal society that differed from the acceptable opinions in France at the time; He valued freedom of thought and denounced cruelty and oppression. The people of France knew him as a brilliant play writer but he was on his way to becoming an ideologist, as the French would later discover. Because of his views on the government, Voltaire found his ticket to freedom in 1726. He was kicked out of his own country, but was free to travel. He chose to continue his work in England. During his glory days in the beautiful country of England, he enjoyed the fact that he wasn’t beaten or judged by his free thoughts. A year after his arrival, Isaac Newton passed away and he was astonished at the fact that he was buried like a king, showing respect for the higher minds.
On religion: Voltaire always criticizes the Catholique church, Voltaire was a religious man, but didn’t like two aspect of religion: Sectarianism (belonging to a specific religious) and Superstitious Today Voltaire’s religion would be names as deism (From déisme in French) He also refused to see the evidence of religious ideas.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/
Voltaire
Francois-Marie Arouet, commonly known as Voltaire (21 November, 1694 – 30 May, 1778), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher. Along with a few other philosophers, Voltaire was one of the most prominent Enlightenment figures; being the advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and etc., his ideas and thoughts heavily influenced both the French and the American Revolution.Voltaire was born in 1694, to a well-established family, with a public official father, and a well-educated aristocratic mother. With the benefit of family background, Voltaire was able to acquire a first-class education in France and was exposed to literature and political favors at a young age. From a young age, Voltaire had always wanted to be a playwright, but his father wanted to install his son in a public official position, so Voltaire tried to satisfy his father by going to lawyer school, then working as a lawyer’s apprentice; and finally as a French diplomat’s secretary. However, in each case, he abandoned his job. In order to escape his obligations, Voltaire retreated to the libertine sociability in Paris in the 1720s. Here, in the culturally vibrant period of time, he was able to establish himself as an independent letters man. During this period of his life, Voltaire, along with other intellects, met often at the La Source, where he was introduced to natural and English philosophy, through the works of John Locke, Newton and etc. Following this period of time, Voltaire spent a brief three years in exile in London, where he deepened his understanding of philosophy and matured his identity as a philosopher. In 1729, Voltaire returned to Paris, under the permission of French officials and after solving his financial problems, Voltaire gradually reconciled with and resettled back into the French society. However, his philosophical worked continued throughout the rest of his life.
On nature of man:
98% of the people were poor and had no control over the government, while 2% were rich and had total control. This thought made Voltaire believd that people were self-interested, and selfish. Human are also born sinful as people try to believe everything Is for the best, they begin ignoring true and real problems. He related most of his ideas from his experiences, and over the years, it shaped who he was.
In 1716, Voltaire was arrested and exiled from Paris for 5 months. From 1717 to 1718 he was imprisoned in the Bastille for lampoons of the Regency. During the time he spent in prison, he wrote a play called Candide which brought him to fame, but it didn’t lessen the number of enemies he has in court.
On Society and government:
Unlike many radical philosophers of the day, Voltaire didn’t like the idea of a republic and therefore, did not favor “grassroots democracy”. Voltaire was strongly against intolerance; discrimination; and abuse of power, so throughout his life, he waged a personal war for justice. His ideal was that the monarch should treat all citizens with equal fairness and justice; however, this did not seem possible at the time. Voltaire’s reason for supporting a constitutional monarchy (as opposed to a republic) was that a country needed a strong central leadership because without it, the country would fall apart.
On human right's:
Voltaire always had a view on the ideal society that differed from the acceptable opinions in France at the time; He valued freedom of thought and denounced cruelty and oppression. The people of France knew him as a brilliant play writer but he was on his way to becoming an ideologist, as the French would later discover. Because of his views on the government, Voltaire found his ticket to freedom in 1726. He was kicked out of his own country, but was free to travel. He chose to continue his work in England. During his glory days in the beautiful country of England, he enjoyed the fact that he wasn’t beaten or judged by his free thoughts. A year after his arrival, Isaac Newton passed away and he was astonished at the fact that he was buried like a king, showing respect for the higher minds.
On religion:
Voltaire always criticizes the Catholique church, Voltaire was a religious man, but didn’t like two aspect of religion: Sectarianism (belonging to a specific religious) and Superstitious
Today Voltaire’s religion would be names as deism (From déisme in French)
He also refused to see the evidence of religious ideas.
Work cited:
Zbíral, David. "Voltaire Et Sa Pensée." Voltaire Et Sa Pensée. David Zbíral, 11 June 2009. Web. http://www.david-zbiral.cz/Voltaire.htm.