Candide is the story of a young man, though he was tortured in almost every way of life, he desperately believes that he “lives in the best of all possible worlds.” This 18th Century classic is in fact a satiric tale that brings Philosophical Optimism and proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is “apart of a benevolent cosmic plan”. In our notes, we have explained that Philosophical Optimism is a claim that this world is the best of all possible worlds and any other world that are capable of existence could only be worse. It goes on to say that this world is divinely planned and it has a built-in concern to its own. Alexander Pope believed in Philosophical Optimism, but Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire did not.
By the end of the story, Pangloss is forced to believe that he doesn’t believe a word of his own optimistic conclusions. I found Candide to be a very funny and witty story of a young man who learns into many obstacles. Although most of the story wasn’t easy to understand, the themes and comedy of the story were made simple.
everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds”, is a simplified version of the philosophies of a number of Enlightenment thinkers, like Leibniz. According to these philosophers, people perceive the imperfections in the world because they do not understand God’s plan for man. This reminds me of Pope’s Great Chain of Being. Because Voltaire does not accept that a perfect God can exist, “he” can afford to mock the world’s inability to
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