The Thought and Influence of Voltaire Essay -- Writer Literature Paper

The Thought and Influence of VoltaireIThe legacy of Franois Marie Arouet, or Voltaire is not only a vast collection of writings, but likewise a world that has been radically and directly affected by these works and the activities of their author. While Voltaire did not create many of the ideas he professed, his success at disseminating these is unparalleled. He summed up with the most panache of anyone of his day the central issues of the Enlightenment, and rallied with the greatest fervour to see his beliefs tangibly realised.This paper will focus on Voltaires stances on vital issues, their weight versus the ideas and practices against which they are reactions, and their influence on both 18th century Europe and the modern West.IIHistoryVoltaires interpretation of history, its value, and the lift out methods for dealing with it, reveal clearly that his first love is literature. The important qualities of an historical work were, for him, character development, drama, and setting.1 1 But whereas previous historians may have been loath to wear out any texture to their descriptions of past civilisations, instead preferring value-laden generalisations (Golden Ages and Dark Ages) and whereas it was rare for one to make the attempt to transcend their setting and beliefs for the sake of better perceptiveness their subjects,22 Voltaire stress that it was vital not just to look at significant events, but also to immerse oneself in the quotidian details of a society, thus understanding the character of the people behind the events.33 This deliberate identification with other cultures is characteristic of the relativism that the philosophes practised and that influenced their ethical theories. Drama aside, V... ...rsity Press, 1959) pp.288-291.1111 Gay. p.129.1212 Lauer. p.75.1313 Voltaire. movable Voltaire. p.85.1414 Wade. p.785.1515 Voltaire. Portable Voltaire. p.142.1616 Voltaire. Portable Voltaire. p.144.1717 Wade. p.786.1818 Voltaire. Lettres Philosophiques. ( Paris Garnier Frres, 1964) p.34.1919 Wade. p.785.2020 Voltaire. Portable Voltaire. p.212.2121 Voltaire. Portable Voltaire. pp.134-136.2222 Voltaire. Portable Voltaire. pp.152-155.2323 Gay. p.289.2424 Wade. p.786.2525 Gustave Lanson. The Voltairian Reformation of France in Voltaire. ed. William F. Bottiglia. (Englewood Cliffs Prentice-Hall, 1968) p.139.2626 Norman L. Torrey. Duplicity and Protective Lying in Voltaire. pp.19-30.2727 David D. Bien. The Calas Affair. (Princeton Princeton University Press, 1960) p.25-26.2828 Gay. pp.278-281.