FranoisMarie Arouet AKA Voltaire By Robert Cook Kendal

François-Marie Arouet AKA: Voltaire By: Robert Cook, Kendal Malone

Biography � � � � Born November 21, 1694 Youngest of the five children Attended the Collège Louis-le-Grand (1704– 1711) Voltaire had decided he wanted to be a writer, against the wishes of his father Early in his life, he ran into trouble with French government and was sentence to leave This gave him the opportunity to be inspired by other countries and take their ideas to improve the French government Died May 30, 1778

Voltaire’s Prose Works Voltaire's prose works and romances, were written as polemics � Candide attacks the passivity inspired by Leibniz's philosophy of optimism � In these works, Voltaire's ironic style, free of exaggeration, is apparent, particularly the restraint and simplicity of the verbal treatment. � Voltaire's first major philosophical work in his battle against "l'infâme" was the Treatise on Tolerance � Voltaire wrote about what he perceived as the human origins of dogmas and beliefs, as well as inhuman behavior of religious and political institutions in shedding blood over the quarrels of competing sects. �

Religious Views � Voltaire did not believe that any single religious text or tradition of revelation was needed to believe in God � Voltaire considered himself a deist � He expressed the idea: "What is faith? . . . ” � Voltaire's opinion of the Bible was mixed � Voltaire's skeptical attitude to the Bible separated him from Unitarian theologians & biblical-political writers � This did not disturb his religious practice

Views on Slavery & Race � Voltaire rejected the Christian Adam and Eve story � he divided humanity into varieties or races and attempted to explain the differences between these races � He wondered if blacks fully shared in the common humanity or intelligence of whites � His most famous remark on slavery is found in "Candide", where the hero is horrified to learn 'at what price we eat sugar in Europe‘ � Voltaire wrote caustically about whites and Christians who proceed to purchase negroes cheaply

Summary � Voltaire was a from a prosperous middle class family in Paris. He wished to be a writer and achieve success in playwright. Voltaire wrote a nearly endless stream of pamphlets, novels, plays, letters, essay, and histories. His writings brought him both fame and wealth. He is also known for his criticism against Christianity, and strong belief in religious tolerance, and religious intolerance in 1763.