The Existence Of Evil In Voltaire's Candide

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Many philosophers and Enlightenment thinkers believed that “everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.” The existence of evil, to these philosophs, was thought to be an indication that there could be an imperfect God. If evil exists in the world then God must either not have total power, or not be completely good. They believed that if God is thought to be perfect, then the world that has been created must be perfect as well. In the book Candide by Voltaire, Voltaire disagrees with the idea of a perfect God. His opinion allows him to satirize the idea of a perfect world. During his time, Voltaire was extremely unpopular with not only the government, but also the church authorities. Voltaire believed that evil prematurely exists in humans leading him to mockingly touch on the ideas of religion, the power of reason, the tyranny of the church and the equality of all beings. …show more content…

Voltaire entirely disagreed with this optimism . He believed that true happiness could only be experienced in an unreal, perfect world. Candide lost any optimism he once had while at El Dorado. Having experienced numerous disastrous situations while at El Dorado, Candide states, "Certainly,if everything goes well, it is in Eldorado and not in the rest of the world" (42). Candide goes a step further, "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" (40). Voltaire has always been seen as a pessimistic person because of the way he looks at the human race born with evil within. Despite his numerous attempts at defining humans in a positive way, Voltaire ultimately believes that evil exists within and it is up to the individual to bring out the good and continue to cultivate one’s own

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