Can I Be Candide With You??

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I was hoping to be laughing a bit while reading through Candide, and I honestly would now feel bad if I did. There is definitely the occasional smirk, but honestly I don't know where to begin. It seems that Voltaire's approach to combat philosophical optimism was to throw as much negativity as possible. I also took the opportunity to look up the definition  of philosophical optimism. Obviously, we don't live in the bast world, according to what philosophers would say when talking about this form of optimism. Im unfamiliar with the political scene at the time this was written, but I wonder if this was also an attempt to call out others in the public. It seems like every character we have seen so far could fit a part of society, in a way to paint a picture so those who read this could all see more clearly. That's just what I happened to get from it. It's and I'm gonna sleep.

Comments

  1. Nathanael C. CarrollSeptember 25, 2017 at 11:04 PM

    It's important to note that many today also believe that God created the best of all possible worlds when He created the universe in which we live. In light of this, be sure to consider this as a true satire of a popular thought, not just a weird, peripheral issue.

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  2. BrandonArnoldSeptember 25, 2017 at 11:39 PM

    Voltaire is attacking the idea (along with many other philosophers, artists, and thinkers of this era) that the life that has been handed to you is your best life. Although he portrays horrible things the main character still stays headstrong and moving forward through all of it.

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