“Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand,
he or she must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.” A pen name conceived and
adopted in the cold depths of the French Bastille, Voltaire, born Francois-Marie Arouet in 1694 was
destined for literary prestige in an era known as the French enlightenment. A prolific playwright,
scientist, revolutionary, and philosopher; this video will focus on the latter. However
to understand Voltaire’s unconventional philosophic model it is necessary we make
use of each. Said to have spent up to 18 hours a day writing, Voltaire wrote more than 50 plays,
multiple books, some 20,000 letters, and dozens of treatises (tree-tuh-suhz) on science. This
may have been fueled by the near 50 cups of coffee he is rumored to have drunk per day.
We’ll skip forward in the life of Voltaire to 1729 when he was 35 years old, up until
this time Voltaire like many other writers and intellectuals of the 18th century was
bound by financial shackles; requiring favor from the wealthy, thus limiting the scope of
their expression. This changed for him after winning a fortune in a sort of lottery put on
by the French government; this financial freedom cleared the path for the birth of a revolutionary.
In 1734 Voltaire published the Philosophic Letters at the age of 40, prior to this his life did not
particularly direct toward philosophy. The Philosophic Letters originally named Letters
on England offered readers an empirically recognizable account of English society,
containing letters on John Locke, Francis Bacon, and on the details of Newtonian
natural philosophy. This was published without Voltaire’s permission and led him to flee Paris
after it caused public outrage and considerable controversy; many of the copies were publically
burned by the authorities. He stated “it is dangerous to be right in matters on which
the established authorities are wrong,” and these philosophic letters strongly criticized existing
French institutions. Voltaire fled 250km or 155miles away to Cirey (Rolled R Cir-ay),
the home of friend and lover Emilie du Chatelet; here he stayed for 15 years. Du
Chatelet was an extraordinary mathematician in her own right, translating Newton’s Principia
Mathematica (Prin-ship-ia) or in English Mathematical Principles, she also authored
original treatises (tree-tuh-suhz) in natural philosophies. These two were not only a romantic
partnership, but also an intellectual one. Around the same time the Philosophic Letters was
published, Voltaire and du Chatelet co-authored Elements of the Philosophy of Newton. This work
was created to give an accessible doorway to the philosophy of Isaac Newton for the common person,
since Voltaire believed this was such a large percentage of the French people; Voltaire and
du Chatelet knew it imperative to reach them with something they could digest. Without
the support of the people, their goal of bringing France out of the fell clutches
of superstition and into the scientific enlightenment of Newton would be futile.
Soon after the spread of their work war broke out within France, not a war of arms but a
war of cultures. This culture war centered on the character and value of Newtonian natural
philosophy. Around 1750 night began turning to day and enlightened Newtonianism was on the horizon.
1756 came and Voltaire along with many of his contemporaries published An Essay on Universal
History, the Manners, and Spirit of Nations. In it contained the history of Europe before Charlemagne
and up until the age of Louis XIV. Throughout this work was a call to reason and a rejection
of superstition as well as myth. Voltaire argued that Christianity was not essential for civility
and morality. He did this by presenting a sort of commonality between cultures and creeds,
proposing that instead of specific superstition and dreams guiding societal morality, it was
instead the universal recognition of a supreme being that provided the basis for morality.
Voltaire’s religious beliefs were that of a deist. While he did believe in a god,
he was vehemently against the organized religion of 18th century France as it
perpetuated superstition and myth. He is quoted saying “Those who can make you believe absurdities
can make you commit atrocities” almost certainly referring to the countless wars, persecutions,
and as he himself put it “atrocities” committed in the name of god. In his writings Voltaire is more
often critical of the Christian religion simply due to the fact that it was all around him, but he
is also known to criticize Islam and Judaism. It is clear that he did not wish to abolish religion,
but instead to do away with the superstition and advocate for tolerance of other religions
and denominations. He said that “Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy,
the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have to long dominated the earth.”
After the death of Du Chatelet in 1749 Voltaire joined the court of Fredrick the Great for a
short time. This ended in a disagreement between Voltaire and the president of the royal academy
of sciences Maupertuis (moh-per-twee). Voltaire published a satire depicting
Maupertuis (moh-per-twee) as a philosophic fool. Fredrick sided against Voltaire in this battle
of intellectuals. Afterward given the option to either retract his words or leave Berlin; Voltaire
chose to leave Berlin traveling to and settling in the hinterlands between Switzerland and France
in a place called Ferny (fair-nay). While here Voltaire claimed himself a member of the “Party
of Humanity.” In a letter written to Jean le Rond d’Alembert Voltaire said “Whatever you do, crush
the infamous thing, and love those who love you.” He said this in reference to the obliteration of
superstition. This is where the saying “Crush the Infamy” became synonymous with the name Voltaire.
Around the same time in 1755 Voltaire joined the likes of Diderot (dee-duh-roh)and
d’Alembert (D-alumbear) in contributing to the Encyclopedia. The goal of this work was
to change the way the people thought and to advocate for secular ways of thinking, this
directly opposing the Jesuits. It goes without saying that the established French authorities
were not fond of this work and went to great lengths to suppress its reach. Voltaire fought
with all the wit and vigor he possessed in order to defend it from its ecclesiastic attackers.
He wished to liberate the minds of the masses and bring to fruition their goal of complete equality
for all thought: he said “think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.”
Let us jump forward to 1764, in this year Voltaire published the Philosophical Dictionary. While this
book did republish many of the articles that were present in the Encyclopedia,
it also contained new entries that reflected much of the same points of view in the original
Encyclopedia. Perhaps the real value of this work lay in its ability to reach out from any section
and invite personal reflection. From natural law and truth to superstition and tyranny you’ll find
many topics that stimulate contemplation about the nature of society in this work.
With such a large library it can be overwhelming trying to extrapolate
a clear and complete view of his beliefs. In the case of Voltaire it is important to
not only view his works of philosophy, but to also take from his various fictional stories,
satires, poems, pamphlets, and other less obvious philosophical genres.
Voltaire was a deist; however he maintained a naturalistic world view. It is important to note
that he was not against religion, but instead was against the superstition that often surrounded it.
He fought for tolerance and personal liberty; even for those whose ideas directly opposed
his own. This was of course as long as their ideas were not murderous and megalomaniacal.
He stated “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
He wished to bring the ideas of various scientist and philosophers such as John Locke and Isaac
Newton to the minds of not just the learned, but also to the common men and women of Europe.
He measured the worth of philosophy by its ability to incite social and political change.
Voltaire argued that every claim and every creed should be subject to the same critical
reason as a scientific theory. He said “no problem can withstand the assault of sustained
thinking.” In an age where speaking against the established authority was a sure fire way to the
Bastille and where superstition was seen as a sufficient substitute for reason, this line of
thinking was no less than revolutionary. After the death of Voltaire in 1778,
many thousands mourned his death and even the French officials whom he so long quarreled
with honored him with respect. His heart still remains in Frances national library,
if you ever find yourself in Paris stop in to visit one of western philosophies
most influential and rebellious minds. The accomplishments of this man were endless,
and to get the full picture I encourage you to read more into his works because this
video only scratches the surface. I would be eternally grateful if you would like the video
and subscribe to the channel. Thank you for talking philosophy with me, until next time.