Optimal Philosophy and Satire in Voltaire’s Candide Essay

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Updated: Feb 11th, 2024

“Pangloss was professor of metaphysico-theologico-cosmolo-niology. He proved admirably that there is no effect without a cause” (Voltaire 8).

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The use of satire is the key point of Voltaire’s success in his work. One of the first examples of satire as the possibility to introduce some philosophical ideas was the description of the professor’s activities. The point is that the field of his work is hard to pronounce quickly as well as to understand at the very beginning. And the idea that is offered by the professor is too simple still too educative to consider. In other words, people should better pay more attention to the essence of the idea, its core, and basis instead of thinking about the ways of how to make everything more complicated then it is now.

“Come, sir, seat yourself; not only will we pay your reckoning, but we will never suffer a man as you to want money; men are only born to assist one another” (Voltaire 10).

Such combination of ideas can make the reader smile or even being confused. The combination of tragic and comic theme is perfectly observed in these lines. The author describes the real challenges men face in ordinary life: on the one hand, they are usually forced to earn money and create appropriate conditions for living; and on the other hand, men do not have too many rights to control their money as well as be connected to the financial affairs which may be perfectly controlled by women.

America

“A hundred times I was upon the point of killing myself; but still I loved life. This ridiculous foible is perhaps one of our most fatal characteristics” (Voltaire 32).

What the author wants to disclose in this chapter is the idea of why so many unfortunate people who think about suicides a lot cannot kill themselves. The satire used in these lines underline the fact that how tragic a human life can be, a person will never agree to make it worsen being aware that no one can help him/her any more. It is an ordinary think to take a number of stupid actions without any reasons, but when the time to do something serious comes, people are too weak to sacrifice themselves in order to make the world better.

“You have seventy-two quarterings, and not a farthing; it is now in your power to be wife to the greatest lord… who have very beautiful moustachios” (Voltaire 34).

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In this phrase, several human principles are hidden. First, it is one of the evident questions whether women have to marry because of love or because of money. It seems to be tragic to recognize that the vast majority of people are mercenary; however, it is always possible to find some pleasant aspects of the chosen principles and believe that the ideas of humanism and true feelings may be traced even while a too mercenary choice is made.

Ottoman

“There is no doubt of it: but in this country it is found good, from time to time, to kill one Admiral to encourage the other” (Voltaire 67).

There are a number of actions which may be characterized as both of positive and negative impact on society. The chosen citation serves as a powerful example of how the death of one person that has to be considered as a personal tragedy may become the required stimulus for more people. The question is whether it is necessary to neglect the life of one person in order to improve the conditions which other people will live under. The author criticizes still uses one human death as a means to encourage the others.

“It is a chaos – a confused multitude, where everyone seeks pleasure and scarcely any one finds it, at least it appeared to me” (Voltaire 76).

The peculiar feature of this idea is all about the possibility to find some kind of satisfaction in chaos. It is hard to understand how people may be happy in the chaos they create. There are so many ways to improve human life, and people cannot understand that it is still possible to live in a good and properly organized world and search for their pleasure under the most appropriate conditions. It is time to stop taking unreasonable steps and evaluate the life and human needs to realize a true worth of life.

Works Cited

Voltaire. Candide. New York: Echo Library, 2010.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Optimal Philosophy and Satire in Voltaire’s Candide." February 11, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/optimal-philosophy-and-satire-in-voltaires-candide/.

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