Voltaire did n’t invent theEnlightenment — hewasthe Enlightenment .
carry François - Marie Arouetin 1694 in France , Voltaire wrote myriad drama , verse form , sarcasm and polemic — his collect works take up 200 volumes — and centuries before there was aMadonna , Bono orBeyoncé , the one - named Voltaire was Europe ’s first truly mod renown . ( Historianshave differing viewson why he give himself that one - name moniker . )
Francois-Marie Arouet was so much more than an Enlightenment " philosopher " or " thinker " — helivedhis belief . Voltaire incarnate the Enlightenment principles of intellectual freedom , shrewd - tongued critique and the righteous battle of reason versus superstition . And he did it on a public stage through his canny use of new publishing retail store like magazines and journal .
Voltaire ’s " fan " were n’t only toy with by his witty writing and shocked by his public attacks against the church and other quondam - guard psychiatric hospital ; they were athirst for details of Voltaire’stabloid - ready private life . Illicit beloved affairs , illegitimate materialisation , prison house stints and forced exile became as synonymous with the name Voltaire as his satirical masterpiece " Candide . "
Master of “New Media”
Voltaire would have loved Twitter . The Enlightenment was fueled by an explosion in new form of print media like pamphlets , journal and even magazines , articulate J.B. Shank , a story prof and manager of theCenter for former Modern Historyat the University of Minnesota . The ideas circulate in these publications would be discussed and turn over at new intellectual area like urban coffee shop , public library and upper - class salons .
" The 18th century was its own moment of young media and new medium authorities , which created a young variety of fame , " says Shank , author of " The Newton Wars and the Beginning of the French Enlightenment " and " Before Voltaire : The French Origins of ' Newtonian ' Mechanics . "
" Arouet emerges as this far-famed intellectual , writer and wit . He ’s really just famous for being Voltaire . "
In " The Invention of Celebrity " by Antoine Lilti , the Gallic historiographer notes that Voltaire understood " like nobody else " how to keep his name in the news through hilarious satires , ribald poetry and unblushing attacks on the " older government " orthodoxy .
" Even those who had never read [ Voltaire ’s ] record book had heard his name , " indite Lilti .
Philosophie vs. Philosophy
It ’s wrong to call Voltaire a philosopher in the classical sense . He was what eighteenth - century France called aphilosopheand what we might call today a " public intellectual . " Through Voltaire ’s voluminous writing — play , prose stories , alphabetic character , journalism — he lead to a new type of public treatment that was gratuitous - zippy , vital , anti - establishment , and often shady and entertaining .
" Put all that together and what the French called it was ' philosophie , ' which is anythingbutwhat you ’d get if you signed up for a college philosophy course today , " tell Shank .
Voltaire became the " avatar " or embodiment of Enlightenmentphilosophieand in so doing popularized a unexampled sort of modern intellectual position . Voltaire and his compatriot were n’t writing as mere intellectual exercises . They wanted their words and ideas — often drive home with wit and shock value — to regulate and determine public impression , and from there to chip shot away at the very institution of old - sentry go European society .
“Crush the Infamy!”
Voltaire ’s motto was " Ecrasez l’infâme!“which roughly translates to " vanquish the infamy ! " The " infamy " in Voltaire ’s eyes was everything that was wrong with European club , from priests telling people what to conceive and how to live , to royal dynasty institutionalise countless men to their demise in meaningless wars . It was the role of thephilosopheto rail against the old regime and expose its dangerous ridiculousness .
" The estimation was to mobilise intellectuals to call out the outrages of society and to marshal true thought , reason and sanity in the name of progress and improvement , " says Shank . " The spirit of this shibboleth is a shout through the bullhorn of ' We call for to defeat the changeling ! ' "
intend of Voltaire as an eighteenth - century John Stewart , John Oliver or Trevor Noah . The fabric may be biting and sarcastic , but the underlying Passion of Christ are dead serious . Voltaire used his renown theatrical role as the brash , aggressive , provocateurto call out real intrusion of public trust by established institutions , particularly the Catholic Church and its undo influence on the res publica .
A dandy lesson was theCalas Affair , when a affluent Protestant merchandiser was sentenced to destruction by Catholic judge in the urban center of Toulouse for the allege execution of his Word , purportedly because the son wish to convert to Catholicism . Not only was the father , named Calas , savagely torn limb from limb by squad of horses , but his widow woman and surviving children were cut off from his heritage .
Voltaire launched a public campaign to get justice for Calas , whom Voltaire believed was convicted out of blind prejudice without a tittle of evidence . With a lawyer ’s mind ( Voltaire train in the constabulary in his youth ) and his trademark wit , Voltaire write a series of unflinching tract and letter that were published throughout France and even made their means to England in translation . In them , he bright blackguard the Department of State ’s case and appealed to a higher court for a retrial , in which Calas was eventually exonerated posthumously and his family ’s fortune furbish up .
Liberty, Hedonism and Luxury
Voltaire ’s fame position was solidify after the Calas Affair . complimentary thought , reason and tolerance had prevailed over the cruel machinations of church and state . Thephilosophe , freely speak his mind in the ignitor of day , had swayed public opinion and right a wrong through intellectual fighting .
The Calas episode neatly encapsulated one of the column of the Enlightenment , which was unfettered liberty of voice communication , no matter the topic and no matter the opinion .
" Voltaire never actually said , ' I disaccord with what you say , but I will defend to the decease your right to say it , ' " say Shank . " But even if he did n’t say it , he should have . It ’s a everlasting distillate of his philosophic stance . "
For Voltaire , free speech was just part of the entire liberty packet . Voltaire was an infamous debauchee who had no patience for the repressive morality of the church that held priestly celibacy as the sexual nonpareil . In his erotic poetry and unapologetic personal life , Voltaire preached the merits of hedonism .
" anchor all of this is Voltaire ’s theme that I ’m a real human being with pleasures and passions , but also pains , and that the whole Christian apparatus is trying to stamp down those pleasures , " state Shank .
Voltaire was no starving creative person , either . Thanks to some savvy investments , including ascheme to acquire a Paris lottery , Voltaire be a lucullan life style and defended his desire for nice thing . Like Adam Smith , Voltaire supported a detached market system in which personal self - interestingness was n’t catch as a " sin , " but drove competitor , innovation and progress .
Voltaire give way in 1778 , 11 years before the start of the French Revolution , after which the provocative public intellect was raised from a popular literary famous person to a French national hero sandwich . When the revolutionary government decide to bury France ’s " Great Men " in thePanthéon , Voltaire was the very first to meet the honor .
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