Theory Of Philosophical Optimism In Pangloss's Candide

Enlightenment philosophers wanted concrete, tangible proof to back their ideas. Pangloss, Candide’s friend and teacher, is a character that depicts the metaphysical side of the Old Regime. He is an optimist who believes that there is no effect without a cause and that everything is made for a reason and with a purpose. Voltaire portrays Pangloss as naive. Pangloss finds himself in trouble for studying and exploring the world before he becomes sure of himself and his ideas. Even after Pangloss’s troubles, he still refuses to stray from his thoughts and would rather believe his ideas than face reality. Another character that is depicted as naive and optimistic is Cacambo, Candide’s servant. Cacambo consoles Candide after his loss of Cunegonde. Cacambo claims that God takes care of all women and that they will never be at a loss. But Candide knows the sufferings that Cunegonde and the Old Woman have experienced. Cunegonde was bought, sold, and objectified throughout the novel, along with the Old Woman, who was beaten, raped, and treated with

The Old Woman advices Cunegonde, to marry the self-important governor. The man whom stole the jewelry, has been caught and turned them in. With marrying the governor, the Old Woman knows will provide them with protection from prosecution. However with this, you also see the Old Woman, allowing Candide to take all of the blame for the crime. This decision is another example that contradicts Panglos philosophy of the perfect world. With this you see the Old Women suggest Cunegonde make a decision using logic and not emotions feelings. You see everyone is essential for him or herself.

Candide is the son of the Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh's sister. Candide grows up in the Castle of Westphalia and is taught by Dr. Pangloss, a man that Candide often looked to for insight and understanding. One of Panglos many great beleifs is that all is for the best and that good can be found in everything. Candide fell in love with a girl by the name of Lady Cunegonde who is described as having extravagant beauty.

Candide is a satirical piece written by Voltaire, the great French historian and philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment. There are two contrasting female characters in the literature. Cunegund is the daughter of a baron who experiences unbearable miseries. An unnamed old woman is a servant of Cunegund who was born as a daughter of a Pope. Candide, who is Cunegund’s lover, is also a traveling companion. Even though both Cunegund and the old woman share similarities in their respective lives, and possess admirable strength, they contrast in that the old woman is pessimistic and realistic while Cunegund is optimistic and impractical.

In the novel Candide, Voltaire satirizes the disillusionment of optimism by depicting a multitude of hardships seen around the world. Candide, the open-minded protagonist, has been exposed to Pangloss’s optimistic philosophy for the majority of his life. However, throughout the course of the novel, it becomes increasingly difficult to see the positive side of all the catastrophe surrounding him. It is only after he starts doubting this philosophy that Candide starts to become influenced by the teachings of Martin. Although Candide resides in security at the conclusion, Voltaire draws on the disastrous events seen throughout the novel and utilizes Martin’s pessimistic point of view to claim that human nature is incomplete without suffering.

Philosophy and reality do not line up for the most part. Their disconnect is where the main conflict of the story lies. Over the course of his many travels and encounters with many colorful different strangers, Candide’s idea that this is the best of all possible worlds, stemming from his learning at Pangloss’s side, begins to make a shift. There is a startling disconnect between that philosophy and Candide’s gritty reality. It is only through realizing how

In Chapter 19, after leaving El Dorado, Candide and his guide run into a slave who has been brutally punished by his master who had cut of a hand and a leg. Upon hearing of his sad tragedy Candide for the first time strongly refutes optimism, ”Oh Pangloss, cried Candide, you have no notion of these abominations! I'm through, I must give up your optimism after all. What's optimism? said Cacambo. Alas, said Candide, it is a mania for saying things are well when one is in hell” (386). It is finally at this point that Candide sees the uselessness of passivity and unrealistically expecting the best results in every situation that one may stumble upon. As the story progresses it is at this point that Candide begins to argue against the “knowledge” of Pangloss.

Why do bad things happen to good people? A question often asked by...well, by just about everyone. It is a frequently asked question that philosophers and religious figures have tried to answer for centuries yet no one can pinpoint the answer. Candide is no doubt Voltaire's response to the answer given by some of the philosophers of his time. The philosophy discussed throughout the novel gives meaning to the story itself and contributes to and carries on throughout the entire story.

In Voltaire’s Candide, we are taken by the hand through an adventure which spanned two continents, several countries, and to a multitude of adverse characters. The protagonist, Candide, became the recipient of the horrors which would be faced by any person in the 18th century. But Candide was always accompanied with fellows sufferers, two of which our focus will lay, Pangloss and Martin. In equal respects, both are embodiments of different philosophies of the time: Pangloss the proponent of Optimism and Martin the proponent of Pessimism. Each of the two travelers is never together with Candide, until the end, but both entice him to picture the world in one of their two philosophies. Throughout the story there is an apparent ebb and flow

(526)<br><br>The multitudes of disasters, which Candide endures, culminate in his eventual, if temporary, abandonment of optimism. When asked "What's optimism?" by Cacambo, Candide replies, "Alas…it is a mania for saying things are well when one is in hell." (555) <br><br>Candide finally begins to recognize the futility of his dear Pangloss' philosophy. Voltaire concludes Candide by having Candide discover the Turk's truth to life - "…the work keeps us from three great evils, boredom, vice and poverty." (584) Candide and his band of followers consider these words and decide that they "must cultivate their garden." Even when the entire group has accepted the pastoral lifestyle, finding contentment, Pangloss the Optimist attempts to prove how all their prior misfortunes were parts of the necessary chain of events for them to reach happiness. Voltaire paints Pangloss as the true dolt of optimism, never realizing the errors of his own logic.<br><br>Even though a philosopher of the Enlightenment himself, Voltaire uses Candide as a platform to criticize the utter optimism of his fellows. His use of satire throughout the story has a serious purpose. Voltaire uses satire as a means of pointing out injustice, cruelty, and

Pangloss?s philosophy explains in a superficial way why so many bad things happen to Candide and other characters in the story. Because "everything is for the best of all possible worlds," the bad and evil eventually lead to something good and are necessary for the good to happen(p.519). Pangloss points this out to Candide at the end when he explains:

In Voltaire’s famous eighteenth century text, Candide, the topic of optimism is prevalent. In fact, an alternative name for the piece is “L’Optimisme,” or “The Optimist.” Specifically, Voltaire examines and satirizes Leibnizian optimism, or the notion that humans inhabit the “best of all possible worlds,” as Gottfried Leibniz phrased it in his early Enlightenment era work, Théodicée. Throughout Candide, the readers are introduced to some characters who hold very optimistic outlooks out about life and their current situations, namely Candide himself and Pangloss, Candide’s mentor. In the end, Voltaire ridicules those who subscribe to the conception that this universe is the best possibility and claims that a balance between optimistic and pessimistic views provides a more accurate perspective.

Candide often seems naive during his quest for Cunegonde, however it gradually diminishes throughout the novel. It is especially apparent during the beginning of the novel, when Pangloss’s teachings are still fresh in Candide’s mind, and he is at his youngest. Pangloss had taught Candide his optimistic philosophy while he lived in the baron’s castle, however he never introduced him to negativity or doubt. Therefore, when Candide was banished from the castle and encountered the outside world, his naiveté and unwavering optimism left him vulnerable. After he unknowingly committed a crime while enlisted in the Bulgarian army and attempted to use Pangloss’s philosophy to justify his actions, the King of Bulgaria passed by and “...understood, from everything they told him

Pangloss, who Candide reunites with, is injured and miserable with syphilis, but he justifies the illness by connecting it to the voyage of Columbus to America, bringing wonders like chocolate into Europe (Candide, 8). Candide himself continues to believe in Pangloss’ philosophy no matter how dire his situation. From being separated from Cunegonde, to leaving El Dorado, Candide relentlessly rationalizes his situation. His arguments with the pessimistic scholar, Martin, consisted mostly of his optimistic take on various situations; however, Martin constantly is proven right in accordance with his pessimistic view. One such instance is when Candide evaluated Paquette and Girofleé as a happy couple, but was deeply mistaken as Paquette confessed to him all her troubles up until now.

Enlightenment thinkers wanted tangible, concrete evidence to back their arguments. Pangloss based his arguments on nothing. Voltaire portrays him as naïve, scorning him for not experiencing and studying the world before he becomes firmly planted in his ideas. Even after Pangloss experiences the evil ways of the world, he refuses to change his philosophy. Pangloss would rather preach something attractive to the ear rather than reality. Candide’s servant Cacambo also speaks of false optimism as he tries to console Candide over the loss of Cunegonde. He says that women are never at a loss and that God takes care of them. However, Cunegonde and the Old Woman both experienced brutality and suffering many times over in their lifetime. Cunegonde was bought, sold, and treated like a possession throughout the novel. She and the Old Woman were left vulnerable to molestation and treated like objects. The only hint of optimism in Voltaire’s novel is when Cacambo and Candide stumble upon the country of Eldorado. However, this optimism is quickly distinguished when the two men foolishly trade such a perfect society for jewels, gold, power, and influence. Eldorado is a country in which there is no organized religion, no courts or prisons, no poverty, and complete equality. Even the king is treated as a normal citizen. Candide overlooks the fact that this is a perfect society because of the ideals they practice, and believes that the riches are the most