Voltaire and Rationalism, Skepticism, and Romanticism during the Enlightenment - Research Paper Example

How Voltaire relate to the notion that Rationalism, Skepticism, and Romanticism as the primary Philosophical schools of thought during the Enlightenment. Introduction Age of enlightenment, the eighteenth century, can be often acknowledged as the age of Voltaire. Voltaire wrote in lots of genres, surpassing at several (Lawall 375). He can be remembered in the modern era through his connections with philosophical works, theatre, and short stories of adventure dramatizing philosophical ideologies. The most eminent is Candide, a satire of Leibniz’s optimism philosophy. This form of philosophy scrutinized the absurdity and reality of human suffering. He was a Deist in his lifetime. He became skeptical of most established religious and political institutions. He strove for impartiality in his writings. Although put in exile from Paris severally, his life in the end became renowned as one of the greatest thinkers in France. He fought for values such as freedom and progress, which lay the basic assumptions characterizing the modern Western civilization. This paper shall discuss how Voltaire relates to the primary philosophical schools of thought (rationalism, romanticism, and skepticism) in Candide. Voltaire relationship to the schools of thought Rationalism is a notion that the world can be understood through reason. The approach to find solutions to human problems proposes reasoned alternatives to spiritual dogmas, aspiring to advance a secular structure of culture, and wishes to secure freedom of civil liberties and thought. Skepticism is a philosophical point of view that doubts that one can unreservedly attain knowledge; nevertheless it does not emphasize that things cannot be recognized. It is the search for knowledge, although all knowledge must be scrutinized. Romanticism is a movement that glorifies nature, celebrates the divinity of creation, and idealizes the past. According to Lawall (487), Romanticism emphasizes the freedom of sincerity, originality, self expression, and spontaneity. It never conformed to artificial, impersonal ordered rationality. Romanticism school of thought celebrates nature instead of civilization. In this case, Voltaire has a stake in these three primary philosophical schools of thought. According to Lawall (375) in the Norton anthology, Voltaire opposed militarism, monarchy and slavery. His enlightenment contributions came along with freedom of press, speech and religion. He became cynical of human nature. He would rather not create a perfect world, but just wanted everyone to make the world a better place by substituting superstition and ignorance for rational thought and knowledge. Progress and change could come through philosophers, who could provide advice to the monarchy. Lawall (376) emphasizes that Voltaire campaigned against bigotry and tyranny thus skeptical. He defended the speech sovereignty and religious tolerance. He emphasized that the ideal religion would enhance morality teachings than dogma. He became a skeptic following the neo Pyrrhonian revitalization of the renaissance. He held strong beliefs in religious autonomy, and more religions provided more happiness and peace. The age of enlightenment shows characteristics in the beliefs of the natural law, confidence of human reason, and universal order. The Lisbon earthquake shook the exact underpinnings of beliefs. Scientific and rational approaches to social, economic, religious, and political issues supported a worldly analysis of the world and logic of progress. As Brewer (91) asserts, the vital and influential philosopher of this period is Voltaire, whose philosophy bases on rationalism and skepticism. The organized religions such as the Christianity fall to be the enemies of those who had enlightenment. He generated a slogan that meant wipe it out that is the church of the old array. In Candide, he articulates his philosophy via his characters that personify different principles of the enlightenment. The religious Candide satire criticizes the traditional creed. Individuals need to control their lives as done by Candide after the earth quake. The devastating Lisbon earthquake killed many. An explanation of this geologic event created a fissure within the enlightening paradigm. It was the end and start of the age of reason. The earthquake proved that occurrence would be explained by laws of nature. The quake ruined the institutes of reason like the medical science and the recorded history of Portugal. It created a paradigm of revolution and romanticism. Voltaire’s rationalism directs him to undertake fundamental themes of his time as superstition and absolutism, which he measured far from reason (Israel 102). It is thus, not a subject to reflect and review analysis. In relation to the devastating Lisbon earthquake, people got slaughtered by church order in which he highlighted the ignorance and bigotry of religious of that time. Israel (104) says that it is an example in Candide, which Voltaire analyzes the predicaments of evil on earth. He describes atrocities committed all through history in religion’s name, against those who do not acknowledge the catholic doctrine. The French rational thought would be based on the Descartes process of doubt. Voltaire acted as a link between the ideas of Locke and Newton and the Descartes method (Brewer 120). The anglicizing of the French thought accompanied a method of analysis, which combined empirical induction and rational deduction. He advocated this technique of analysis to all knowledge. He insisted a concern with how things work rather than their essence. In this case, facts came before the opinion. He established a French thought through emphasis on innate ideas. So as to destroy the past set of beliefs, they transformed the method of doubt to that of satire. To embrace something to ridicule presumes some value for reason equally on both sides. During the era of reason, everyone acknowledged the idea that there must be reasonable conduct. It would be a prerequisite for satire. The use of satire or reason exposed the evils of religion, society and state, which opened publicity. This created a mood of rational dissent from the authorities of tradition. The revolutionary doctrine got established within the context of the continuation of natural laws and natural rights. Voltaire intends seemed religious rather than political (Brewer 105). He showed that morality and natural religion was common to all men. He took the position of tolerance against the church, which he viewed it as superstitious and intolerant. This would be exhibited by the Roman Catholic Church. As a Deist, he alleged to a personal God. According to Brewer (110), to Voltaire, God created the world in which natural laws operate every happening. His conception viewed God as a natural being instead of supernatural being. In Candide, he explains the existence of evil within the world. He maintains that God’s purpose puzzle cannot be answered. The world is a mixture of evil and excellence. The greatest evils include need, boredom, and vice. The solution is to nurture own garden to control evils. He discarded the belief that a man’s original sins leads to evil. He believed the scientific ideas to have replaced the religious ones. Man does not need to atone for the original sins on earth, but should reinforce temporal existence through reforming society and institutions. According to Israel (102), Voltaire turned to history to examine the progress of man’s reason and spirit of the age. He explained events with reference to man rather than providence. He conformed to secondary or natural instead of primary or divine causes of events. He develops a notion that the progress of the mind of human rested on no laws, which could be perceived in the affairs of all human beings. Human progress resulted from a happy accident that was consistent with God’s purpose, which became inaccessible to the knowledge of man. He employed an empirical, secular, and a critical approach to matter in the subject. He viewed this matter as a man’s total culture and civilization. According to Brewer (96), Voltaire sees the world as governance of immutable rules thus, every effect corresponds to cause. The world gets driven by natural and physical laws that may be that of a supreme being. If a human being could make decisions on the destiny of something, like a creature or a plant, then it could determine their own fate. In this case, they would be commanding than God, but it is impossible. This is the reason why all men have set targets designated by the Supreme Being or law. According to Israel (89), Voltaire develops criticism in this notion for those who think can logically analyze the factual cause of things; make their own destiny and universal order. In practice, the factual cause of happenings can be understood through a high scrutiny of nature and the search for knowledge. It is a skeptical view, which enables a man to understand the world and nature. Lawall (387) shows that Voltaire accuses the investigation for the mass execution conceded against heretics and sees the consciousness that inspires the instance, like reflection and temperament. Human beings get born with no principles, but have the power to get them all. His temperament gets prone to evil than excellence. Understanding will makes one recognize the moral norms and exact sciences within the society. Instead of questioning the character of human beings on the basis of original sin, Voltaire became annoyed with the universal humanity (Brewer 145). In Candide, he brought up the issue of folks massacring one another. He described these people as traitors, liars, brigands, cheats, flighty, envious, cowards, weak, backbiting, fanatical, silly, hypocritical, grasping, drunkenness, and gluttonous. He feared the passion of universal people, in which he developed a negative attitude towards democracy. He also developed mockery towards the hauteur of the aristocrats. He thought himself as the friend of serfs and peasants. As he opposed every form of slavery, he looked forward to the enlightened monarchs to rule over the class interest and enhance tolerance, which would reign on society and its members. He became too pessimistic on humanity to devise a utopia. How people would understand the world generated a question of concern in Candide. As Brewery (79) puts it, Voltaire argues that the world would be made a terrific place through education and substitute of superstition and ignorance with reason, knowledge, tolerance and sympathy. People should be rational and skeptical in finding solutions to human problems experienced in the world. It was not the unskilled laborers and the poor who were to receive education; it was to be the middle class. He believed that the lower classes required religion, which was to preach virtue and its uses. In conclusion, this paper has discussed how Voltaire relates to the three primary philosophical schools of thought in Candide. Voltaire shows how one can understand the world through reason, search of knowledge and knowledge scrutiny, and nature glorification. Voltaire’s philosophy can be seen to support rationalism and skepticism, but he is anti romantic. In this case, Voltaire is a fundamental icon in the three philosophical schools of thought. Works Cited: Brewer, Daniel. The Enlightenment Past: reconstructing 18th century French thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Israel, Jonathan. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. Lawall, Sarah. The Norton Anthology: Western Literature Volume 2, 8th Edition. New York: W W Norton, 2005. Print. Read More