PREVIEW-Episode 62: Voltaire’s Novel “Candide”

from The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast · host Mark Linsenmayer

On Candide: or, Optimism, the novel by Voltaire (1759). Is life good? Popular Enlightenment philosopher Leibniz argued that it's good by definition. God is perfectly good and all-powerful, so whatever he created must have been as good as it can be; we live in the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire loads this satirical adventure story up with horrific violence to demonstrate that Leibniz's position is just silly. Life is filled with suffering, and human nature is such that even in peace and prosperity, we're basically miserable. Yet we still love life despite this. Tend your garden! Looking for the full Citizen version? The post PREVIEW-Episode 62: Voltaire’s Novel “Candide” first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

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