Philosophy Book
Chapter Twenty: Voltaire
Brief Biography of Voltaire: Summary of Ideas, Portrait & Quotes
This webpage contains a brief overview of the recently published
book 'Philosophical Sketches'. Below you will find a short Chapter summary
on Voltaire, the book cover and back page text, links to other book chapters,
and introduction. You can buy this book online at our Cafepress Philosophy
Book Shop (Book Details: 90 pages, 30 full page portraits, 8.5 inches by
11 inches, $19.50 USD)
Hope you find it interesting,
Geoff Haselhurst & Karene Jade Howie
Chapter
Twenty: Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet, better known by the pen name
Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, deist and philosopher.
Voltaire perceived the French bourgeoisie to be too small and ineffective,
the aristocracy to be parasitic and corrupt, the commoners as ignorant and
superstitious, and the church as a static force only useful as a counterbalance
since its "religious tax", or the tithe, helped to cement a powerbase
against the monarchy.
Voltaire distrusted democracy, which he saw as propagating the idiocy of the
masses. To Voltaire only an enlightened monarch, advised by philosophers like
himself, could bring about change as it was in the king's rational interest
to improve the power and wealth of France in the world. Voltaire is quoted
as saying that he "would rather obey one lion, than 200 rats of (his own)
species". Voltaire essentially believed monarchy to be the key to progress
and change.
He is best known in this day and age for his novel, Candide ou l'Optimisme
(1759), which satirizes the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz. Voltaire is also
known for many memorable aphorisms, like Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait
l'inventer ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him"). ...
(see book for more)
One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the
earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker.
Love truth, but pardon error.
It is better to risk sparing a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.
Common sense is not so common.
Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.
The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm
us.
Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.
We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our
follies - it is the first law of nature.
(Voltaire)
A lively and concise journey through the central
ideas of thirty famous philosophers. From ancient Indian, Greek and Chinese
Philosophy to modern Western Philosophy, this book explores the changing foundations
of human knowledge and their effect on how we think and live.
Includes full page portraits, brief biographies and selected quotes from some
of the greatest minds of human history on the universal subjects of Truth,
Reality, Nature, Cosmos, Wisdom, Morality, Mind, Education, Politics, Art,
Religion & God.
Written for the lay person, while remaining true to the original ideas, this
is an engaging account of the Metaphysical foundations of Philosophy that is
both illuminating and thought provoking. (Cover Photograph: Plato & Aristotle
- The School of Athens by Raphael)
Philosophy Book
Philosophical Sketches: Chapter Headings & Content Summary
Publisher / Online Bookstore Details
Space
and Motion Publications
Online print on demand publishers of books on;
Philosophy, Physics, Metaphysics, Truth, Reality, Evolution, Ecology, Nature,
Education, Politics, Fine Art, Erotic Art, Nature, Cosmos, Wisdom, Morality,
Mind, Religion & God.
http://www.spaceandmotion.com/books/online-book-publishing.htm
Related Pages: Voltaire
We also have a nice philosophy web page on Voltaire;
(Under Construction)
RSS
"When
forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence: Time
and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ... Physical
objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended.
In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The particle
can only appear as a limited region in space in which the field strength or
the energy density are particularly high. ...
