Voltaire's Candide as Satire on European Enlightenment

Introduction

The Enlightenment, also referred to as the Age of Reason, is the historical period from the late 17th century to the early 18th century that was characterized by rigorous political, philosophical, and scientific discourse. The ideas presented during this period had a great impact in shaping modernity as we know it today. Roy Porter, a historian, notes that it was one of the most decisive eras in history. During this period, cultures pushed away centuries-old customs and embraced scientific exploration as well as tolerance and individualism. The result was the development of modern politics that gave birth to the modern world (White, 2018).

By the beginning of the 18th century, many European societies had begun to engage in a new political debate led by the general public. The impact of the Enlightenment was, therefore, revolutionary. These debates were inspired by an increasing volume of magazines, newspapers, and books as well as a growing coffeehouse culture. As societies embraced the spirit of exploration, new discoveries were made in science. These scientific discoveries would accelerate the process of industrialization, which would then lead to massive economic growth and individual freedoms. Individualism, as celebrated by Adam Smith, Kant, and Voltaire, rose to become a defining part of society, and the spirit of personal freedom filtered into the 19th century in the form of liberalism, self-help, and independence. As new constitutions were being written, there was an increasing focus on representative governments that ruled on behalf of the people. This paper explores how Voltaire's Candide can be read as a satirical commentary on the impact of European expansion on Enlightenment thought (White, 2018).

European Expansion and Enlightenment

The start of the Enlightenment can be traced to the destabilizations caused by the English Civil Wars. The 1660 restoration of Charles II and then the 1685 ascendancy to power by James II affirmed that autocratic monarchy had not changed, and this inspired the political thinkers of the time to evaluate how their societies and political organizations could be improved. As the people drove for political change, the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 was born, with the installation of William and Mary marking a settlement with the Protestants. Rome and Greece, in their ancient civilizations, were respected by many political thinkers and served as standards for good political organization. Eager to break from their past and forge a new path, political thinkers pushed for personal freedoms and fought against all elements of tyranny (White, 2018).

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the initial waves of European expansion were centered on three main areas. First, expansions focused on the Atlantic basin, from the coastal stretch of Western Africa and the Atlantic islands to Central America. Second, the northern wave ran from the Siberian coasts and the White Sea to coastal North America, including Labrador, Baffin Island, and Hudson Bay. Third, the wave stretched from the Oriental seas to northern Asia. Subsequent waves of expansion took place in the 18th century in the Pacific region, including New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and Tasmania. Later, in the 19th century, a third wave driven by European nations resulted in the "Scramble for Africa" (Abbattista, 2011).

Every wave was characterized by new interactions with unfamiliar cultures. White Europeans explored new lands and asserted their influence with the help of massive vessels and firearms, as well as a burning desire for great riches. This series of expansions characterizes a period in history known for global plunder driven primarily by Western nations. It is also noteworthy that this period set the stage for the development of the transcultural world as we know it today (Abbattista, 2011).

The waves of expansion had a significant impact on European wealth and culture, especially in the development of new ideas. Materially, Europe gained from its increasing global power by transferring resources from other continents to its shores. Intellectually and culturally, interactions with other peoples inspired new thinking on law, religion, civilization, and history. The result was the development of new fields of inquiry including anthropology, linguistics, sociology, biology, and comparative history. Many explorers during this period also produced extensive and detailed accounts of their adventures, generating new volumes of printed knowledge. These travel accounts would later provide critical historical information for researchers and historians, and also furnished inspiration for various works of literature (Abbattista, 2011).

Contributions to Enlightenment by Various Thinkers

At the turn of the fifteenth century, as various political forces clashed in the Middle East, the Americas, Africa, and Europe, people of various cultures made their way to America. How these cultures interacted was influenced greatly by colonizers, as there was considerable coercion. Nonetheless, various thinkers emphasized the importance of maintaining African and Indian cultures during this process of new contact. These ideas would shape cultural exchange for decades. The British colonization of America would impact the lives of American Indians, Africans, and Europeans forever (Calloway, 1998).

As various thinkers advanced the concept of individualism, the general population began to embrace rights for the common person, inspiring revolutions such as the French Revolution, which began in 1789. These thinkers provided the foundations upon which modern democratic ideals — including individual rights and freedoms — are built. Their ideas would later inspire civil rights movements for various groups, including women and people of color. While the ideas of most Enlightenment thinkers inspired movements advocating for universal rights, many of these thinkers did not personally believe in rights for all, as the predominant view at the time held that power, rights, and freedoms were hereditary. The expansion of rights, therefore, primarily benefited white males of European ancestry, even as these same thinkers challenged the hereditary privileges of European aristocracies (Calloway, 1998).

Voltaire, a famous poet and philosopher, is one of the most notable thinkers to have shaped culture, beliefs, and mindsets during the Enlightenment. Candide, his short prose tale, philosophically critiques various aspects of the Age of Reason, including the hypocrisy of cultural leaders and the inhumane treatment meted out in the name of justice. The work references real events such as the execution of Admiral John Byng, the devastating earthquake of 1755, and the Seven Years' War. Voltaire's letters and prose covered intelligibly the 18th-century upheavals in finance, sex, civil rights, and religion. Roger Pearson notes that Voltaire was able to be in the midst of events and cover them with the perspective of someone surveying from a bird's-eye view, making it possible for future generations to engage meaningfully with his works (Pearson, 2005).

Pearson's view of Voltaire portrays him as a champion of human rights and a freedom fighter. While Voltaire indeed championed against injustice and rose to the defense of victims, his most prized freedom was mental freedom. It was his view that one should be able to think unboundedly — to mock institutions such as Christianity, as he did in his Lisbon earthquake poem, or to make suggestions through fable, as he did in Micromegas. Voltaire's conception of freedom was instrumental rather than absolute: it was the freedom that allowed one to enjoy life and enrich oneself as one saw fit, as long as the rights and freedoms of others were not infringed upon (Pearson, 2005).

François-Marie Arouet, whose ideas have parallels with Voltaire's, studied under the Jesuits at the Louis-le-Grand College. His political education included eleven months spent in the Bastille. The injustice he suffered when imprisoned without a fair trial for insulting a nobleman, contrasted against the free society he witnessed in England, cemented his resolve to commit to the principles of tolerance, justice, liberty, and reason. In various instances, Voltaire acted as an advisor to princes and quickly came to understand that changing institutional laws and regulations was far harder than criticizing them. As a philosopher, his primary inclination was to advocate in the public sphere, as political opportunities were practically out of reach. He presented the case for reforms and the abolishment of superstitions with great authority and passion (Pearson, 2005).

Several misfortunes and atrocities of the 18th century influenced Candide. Among these events are the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the execution of Admiral John Byng, and the Seven Years' War, which had horrific consequences in the German states. Candide is widely praised both as a text that engaged with the paradigms of the Enlightenment and as one that ironically attacked some of its most optimistic ideals. Critiques of Voltaire's work sometimes draw from the principle of sufficient reason put forth by Leibniz, which argues that nothing in the universe can exist without sufficient reason for its existence — and that, therefore, the state of the world is the best state possible (Adams, 2019).

Conclusion

The New World as we know it was forged through an interaction of cultures and the activism inspired by the ideas put forth during the great Age of Reason. Colin Calloway's New Worlds for All explores various facets of the new culture created through the interaction of Indians and Europeans in America. The various dimensions of cultural contact — traveling, trading, worshiping, working, and living together, as well as the more gruesome aspects such as murder, hatred, and political dispossession — worked together to create a society unlike any other in the world (Calloway, 1998).

Reason has the power to make society better through the application of rationality. This is the foundational concept of the Enlightenment. The Age of Reason led to significant social reforms as populations moved away from unproductive prejudices and superstitions. As new ideas reached the masses, people began to question institutions such as the aristocracy and the church — two institutions on which Voltaire directed much of his critical attention. As demonstrated by Candide, the philosophies of the Age of Reason were widely influential, but they were not universally accepted.

References

Adams, S. M. (2019). Irony, contradiction, and Voltaire's garden. IU Journal of Undergraduate Research.

Abbattista, G. (2011). European encounters in the age of expansion. Mainz: Inst. f. Europ. Geschichte.

Calloway, C. G. (1998). New worlds for all: Indians, Europeans, and the remaking of early America. JHU Press.

Pearson, R. (2005). Voltaire almighty: A life in pursuit of freedom. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Voltaire, F. (2005). Candide: Or optimism (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). Penguin.

White, M. (2018). The Enlightenment. Retrieved November 16, 2019, from