• Log In

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

Subscribe on Android Spotify Google Podcasts audible patreon
  • Home
  • Podcast
    • PEL Network Episodes
    • Publicly Available PEL Episodes
    • Paywalled and Ad-Free Episodes
    • PEL Episodes by Topic
    • Nightcap
    • Philosophy vs. Improv
    • Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • (sub)Text
    • Phi Fic Podcast
    • Combat & Classics
    • Constellary Tales
  • Blog
  • About
    • PEL FAQ
    • Meet PEL
    • About Pretty Much Pop
    • Philosophy vs. Improv
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Meet Phi Fic
    • Listener Feedback
    • Links
  • Join
    • Become a Citizen
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Log In
  • Donate
  • Store
    • Episodes
    • Swag
    • Everything Else
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account
  • Contact
  • Mailing List

Topic for #62: Voltaire’s Novel “Candide”

July 30, 2012 by Mark Linsenmayer 8 Comments

On Friday, Aug. 3rd we recorded a discussion of the satirical novel Candide, written in 1751 by Voltaire, whose real name was François-Marie d'Arouet.

While the book is widely known for its take on the problem of evil, we're not in this discussion giving a sophisticated treatment of the historical arguments by Leibniz and others, as Voltaire certainly doesn't do this. In fact, he sees getting caught in the dialectical snares of such long-running historical debates as one of the chief problems to defeat in philosophy, and his choice of this mode of communication, the novel, is all about showing instead of telling. The Leibniz stand-in character in the novel, Pangloss, has a name that means "all talk" or "all tongue," whereas Voltaire wants us primarily to act, and he was known for his advocacy of anti-authoritarian social reforms.

His notorious attacks on religion are largely political: he was fighting for religious tolerance and against dogmatism (in favor of Newtonian science), not against Christianity as a whole, although he did have some things to say about the Judeo-Christian tradition that go towards explaining why he was a favorite of Nietzsche. He's also in the Phyrronian skeptical tradition, following Montaigne. Quoting from the Stanford Encyclopedia on his views in this respect:

Among the philosophical tendencies that Voltaire most deplored... were those that he associated most powerfully with Descartes who, he believed, began in skepticism but then left it behind in the name of some positive philosophical project designed to eradicate or resolve it. Such urges usually led to the production of what Voltaire liked to call “philosophical romances,” which is to say systematic accounts that overcome doubt by appealing to the imagination and its need for coherent explanations. Such explanations, Voltaire argued, are fictions, not philosophy, and the philosopher needs to recognize that very often the most philosophical explanation of all is to offer no explanation at all.

This is our second novel, after reading Herland last year. This serves as an excellent illustration of what Bergson had in mind by comedy, or more precisely "humor" which as the inverse of irony states what is in fact being done and pretends that this is what ought to be done; that's Pangloss's Leibnizian attempt to explain away the plentiful, obvious evil in the world and insisting that this rationally must be the best of all possible worlds, because God only does things with a purpose, and if we can't always see that purpose, it's only because we're too limited to do so. Voltaire instead wants us to accept that evil exists and work according to our meager capacities to overcome it, to "tend our garden."

Buy the book or read it online.

You can also get it as a free audiobook via an Audible free trial (which will support PEL, of course). I've listened to samples of all the unabridged versions of Candide they offer (there are several), and like this one the best.

You might also want to look at this super-short story, "Plato's Dream" by Voltaire, which is reportedly one of the earliest sci-fi stories ever and directly addresses the question as to whether God's creation is any good.

Another short story of Voltaire's that I actually brought up in the discussion is his "Story of a Good Brahmin," which demonstrates why philosophy is sucky yet irresistible.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Filed Under: General Announcements

Comments

  1. randomguy says

    August 1, 2012 at 9:00 pm

    Hey, where’s EP 61?
    Btw typing the keyword “partially” on google gives me the partially examined life as the topmost result (#1)
    Congrats!

    Reply
  2. gravyboat says

    August 17, 2012 at 11:50 am

    PANGLOSS.
    Any questions?
    Ask without fear.
    (Touches his head)
    I’ve all the answers here.

    CUNEGONDE (sings).
    Dear master, I am sure you’re right
    That married life is splendid.
    But why do married people fight?
    I cannot comprehend it.

    CHORUS.
    She cannot comprehend it.

    PANGLOSS.
    The private strife
    Of man and wife
    Is useful to the nation:
    It is a harmless outlet for
    Emotions which could lead to war
    Or social agitation.

    CHORUS.
    A brilliant explanation!

    PANGLOSS.
    Therefore, it’s true.
    No one may doubt it:

    CHORUS.
    Therefore, it’s true.
    No doubt about it:

    PANGLOSS.
    Marriage is blest in
    This best of all possible worlds.

    CHORUS.
    All’s for the best in
    This best of all possible worlds.

    PANGLOSS.
    Next question?
    Deep though it be,
    There’s none too deep for me!

    Reply
  3. Lee says

    August 30, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Friday 3rd of August? Don’t you mean September?

    Reply
    • Mark Linsenmayer says

      August 30, 2012 at 11:51 am

      No, it was recorded in August. It’s now been all edited and is just being transcribed. It’ll go up next week at some point.

      I see I left in some future talk in my hasty post edit, though. I’ve now fully updated the post.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Plato’s Dream « days of parrhesia says:
    August 1, 2012 at 3:19 am

    […] food for thought. Credit goes to guys at PEL for digging it out – for their next episode on Voltaire – and for me to steal […]

    Reply
  2. The Flow-Problem of Evil | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast | A Philosophy Podcast and Blog says:
    August 2, 2012 at 5:33 am

    […] is well done and apropos of our upcoming episode on Candide (to be recorded […]

    Reply
  3. Our Negative Incapability: Optimism, Knowingness, and American Exceptionalism | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast | A Philosophy Podcast and Blog says:
    August 11, 2012 at 4:42 am

    […] light of our recent recording on Voltaire’s Candide (to be published in a few weeks), I’ve been thinking lately about the role of optimism in […]

    Reply
  4. Partially Examined Life Ep. 62: Voltaire's "Candide" | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast | A Philosophy Podcast and Blog says:
    August 28, 2015 at 10:43 am

    […] This is a very special episode for us, as it's our first with all of us recording in the same room, as part of a weekend of fun and frolic in Madison, WI. Read more about the topic and get the book. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PEL Live Show 2023

Brothers K Live Show

Citizenship has its Benefits

Become a PEL Citizen
Become a PEL Citizen, and get access to all paywalled episodes, early and ad-free, including exclusive Part 2's for episodes starting September 2020; our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat more causally; a community of fellow learners, and more.

Rate and Review

Nightcap

Listen to Nightcap
On Nightcap, listen to the guys respond to listener email and chat more casually about their lives, the making of the show, current events and politics, and anything else that happens to come up.

Subscribe to Email Updates

Select list(s):

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Support PEL

Buy stuff through Amazon and send a few shekels our way at no extra cost to you.

Tweets by PartiallyExLife

Recent Comments

  • John Heath on PEL Eulogies Nightcap Late March 2023
  • Randy Strader on Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part Two)
  • Wes Alwan on PEL Nightcap February 2023
  • Kunal on Why Don’t We Like Idealism?
  • Ronald Cogen on Ep. 311: Understanding the Dao De Jing (Part One)

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion

Become a PEL Citizen!

As a PEL Citizen, you’ll have access to a private social community of philosophers, thinkers, and other partial examiners where you can join or initiate discussion groups dedicated to particular readings, participate in lively forums, arrange online meet-ups for impromptu seminars, and more. PEL Citizens also have free access to podcast transcripts, guided readings, episode guides, PEL music, and other citizen-exclusive material. Click here to join.

Blog Post Categories

  • (sub)Text
  • Aftershow
  • Announcements
  • Audiobook
  • Book Excerpts
  • Citizen Content
  • Citizen Document
  • Citizen News
  • Close Reading
  • Combat and Classics
  • Constellary Tales
  • Exclude from Newsletter
  • Featured Ad-Free
  • Featured Article
  • General Announcements
  • Interview
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Misc. Philosophical Musings
  • Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
  • Nakedly Self-Examined Music
  • NEM Bonus
  • Not School Recording
  • Not School Report
  • Other (i.e. Lesser) Podcasts
  • PEL Music
  • PEL Nightcap
  • PEL's Notes
  • Personal Philosophies
  • Phi Fic Podcast
  • Philosophy vs. Improv
  • Podcast Episode (Citizen)
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Pretty Much Pop
  • Reviewage
  • Song Self-Exam
  • Supporter Exclusive
  • Things to Watch
  • Vintage Episode (Citizen)
  • Web Detritus

Follow:

Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Apple Podcasts

Copyright © 2009 - 2023 · The Partially Examined Life, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Copyright Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in