A Stanford course on iTunes U, “Literature in Crisis,” includes two lectures on Candide: here and here. These are by Martin Evans, Chair of the English Department. As a literature guy, he has a bit to say about satire: why it flourished in this age in particular (because of the relative peace and stability, which explains why it’s rampant now Continue Reading …
New York Public Library Colloquium on Candide
The New York Public Library hosts regular live events (details here), and one of these was held in April 2010 to celebrate Candide’s 250th Anniversary. Read about it, watch/listen to it, and get the transcript here. Here’s the video (95 min): You can also download just the audio from iTunes U. Though some parts of this are simply librarians getting Continue Reading …
Universal Salvation: One Hell of a Question
In the recent Candide episode we saw how Voltaire satirized Leibniz’s solution to the Problem of Evil. The Problem of Evil is still a popular topic in contemporary philosophy of religion. One twist on the traditional problem of evil comes from philosopher and theologian, Marilyn McCord Adams, who suggests that for Christians the principal problem of evil is the compatibility of Continue Reading …