‘Je ne veux point être philosophe, je veut être homme.’ (VOLTAIRE). Discuss the work of any one or more eighteenth-century writers in the light of this remark. Is it necessary to be a great philosopher to be a great ‘philosophe’? ‘Ouvrir les portes du temple des Muses à la populace.’ (ROUSSEAU). To what extent does this statement define the aims of eighteenth century literature of ideas? ‘Le philosophe est défini par l’exercice prudent, méthodique et critique de la raison. Mais aussi par le souci du bien public.’ INTRO -
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In the eighteenth century, Enlightenment philosophy saw ideas about man evolve from a moral, spiritual viewpoint to one that was based much more on human experience within the world. Whereas seventeenth century ‘philosophes du cabinet’ had attempted to renew a connection between man and God, conceiving life from a religious aspect, the search for a new morality was now built on the idea that although God existed, there was no divine intervention, and the world became re-appropriated to man. o ‘Philosophes’ were no longer those who sat in their studies, leading ‘une vie tranquille et retirée hors de l’embarras des affaires’, but ‘pratiques’ ; instead a thinker was ‘un honnête homme qui agit en tout par raison, et qui joint à son esprit de réflexion et de justesse les mœurs et les qualités sociales.’ Voltaire and Montesquieu, amongst others, were public intellectuals who repudiated scholasticism and rationalism, as well as the feudalistic injustices these systems entailed; their attempts to improve social and political conditions, endorsing progress and tolerance by analysing real experiences, suggested not only that these thinkers wished to be considered as ‘men’, but that using reason, an innate aspect of humankind, made philosophy available to all. Unlike the seventeenth century, they did not make demands for any radical transformations, did not attempt to turn men into saints, and made no suggestion that absolute truth could be attained. The ‘philosophes’ condemned pride and excess as vices which obscure reason and lead to social disorder (much as the ‘moralistes’ implied in their own way of overturning the traditional image of a philosopher), and instead upheld the notions of moderation and common sense; the literature of time, therefore, is noted for its deliberate modesty. For example, Montesquieu declared in the introduction to his Lettres Persanes that he was only publishing the letters on the condition that he could retain his anonymity. o Nevertheless, there is still much to be seen in Enlightenment literature, with genres such as epistolary writing, travel accounts, and essays offering a more intensely human view of existence. We will examine particular genres and stylistic devices used by Voltaire and Montesquieu to demonstrate how, despite being given the title ‘philosophers’, their ideas concentrated on the fact that they were social beings who, through method and reason, appealed to a universal humanity, and encouraged others to continue the spread of knowledge and understanding derived from their works.
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The very title of Voltaire’s Traité sur la Tolérance illustrates how philosophers in the eighteenth century were concerned with social and universal issues such as justice and intolerance. The notion of a ‘treatise’ may be misleading, since the text is anything but scientific or long, yet at the time, writers who subverted religious or philosophical traditions were subject to persecution, so the ‘philosophes’ needed to defend their principles in ways adapted to the circumstances. Hence Voltaire used a genre suited to discussion amongst ‘savants’, but actually undermined it, not only to preserve his freedom, but to create a relationship between author, reader and text that would diffuse ideas amongst normal, cultured and intelligent men. o Although the structure is fairly rigorous, then, this makes the discussion more easily comprehensible, especially since we find a variety of forms within the short chapters where ideas appear in quick succession emphasising the concept of a ‘philosophe pratique’ - but in a manner that appeals to all. For example, the traditional ‘disputatio’ in chapter XIX is somewhat amusing, especially since it is a rhetorical genre associated with Jesuits and it is in fact the Jesuit who is mocked for the way he speaks: ‘Le jésuite fit alors un assez long discours, pendant lequel le Danois et le Hollandais levaient les épaules; le mandarin n'y comprit rien.’ The essential idea that intolerance is universal and Christianity is potentially the most intolerant of world religions still comes across, albeit in a satirical manner: ‘“Vous voyez, dit le jésuite; ces deux gens-ci sont ennemis mortels, et disputent tous deux contre moi: il est donc évident qu'ils ont tous les deux tort, et que la raison n'est que de mon côté”. o Grounding thoughts in real, concrete examples makes them less explicitly philosophical and therefore more influential: ‘Peut-être un tableau raccourci et fidèle de tant de calamités ouvrira les yeux…et touchera des coeurs’ (chapter II). This supports our argument that Enlightenment philosophers were a kind of ‘honnête homme qui veut plaire et se rendre utile’, who knew how to speak to convince, but wanted to ensure others could ‘peser les vérités, les rectifier et les étendre’ (chapter IV). A more sociable attitude can be noted through the text being written in French, unlike the usual Latin of older philosophical discourse. Voltaire aimed to appeal to a diverse public and the conversational tone throughout, which even appears in a chapter of its own (‘Dialogue entre un mourant et un homme qui se porte bien’), is fast-paced and concise, yet elegant and often humourous, attracting a wider audience and serving as a reminder that these philosophers were intellectual, social men. o Voltaire’s concise style can also be found in the Dictionnaire philosophique, another methodological format in which he attempted to capture the universality of diverse topics and issues in the world. Alphabetising all knowledge and human experience is an implicit means of presenting philosophical thought, but also upholds the idea of a natural order of man beneath surface differences. The brief, ‘portative’ dictionary is a human product in itself too, compiled by a number of authors and requiring the input of readers. It was a guide to eighteenth century life that they could dip into at any time, providing a perspective on their world as well as a general historical knowledge of other cultures through the broad themes of politics, science and religion. While Voltaire sometimes uses
