"Candide" and the Enlightenment

Out of severe poverty, oppressive monarchies, and religious persecution came a radical philosophical revolution known as The Enlightenment. This Age of Reason swept through Europe, offering differing views on science, religion, and politics. France was particularly affected by the ideas produced during the Enlightenment, by means of many great philosophers, such as Rousseau, Descartes, and Voltaire. Voltaire wrote one of the most influential and renowned novels during this period, that challenged not only political paradigm, …

…relevant today as it was in the eighteenth century, with its propositions to reject materialism and accept a compassion for others. Though the Age of Reason eventually gave way to the injustices of the French Revolution in France, the philosophies and implications of the Enlightenment are still present in the contemporary societies of today. Perhaps one day, thanks to the foregoing efforts of philosophers during the Enlightenment we may one day achieve a utopian society.