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- catalog abstract "Candide came into being largely because of Voltaire's great dissatisfaction with the explanation for the problem of evil and human suffering provided by the philosophers of his day. Published in 1759 when Voltaire was 65, Candide was a direct attack on the school of optimism championed by German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and English poet Alexander Pope and popularized in the adventure and romance novels of the period. Optimism, Voltaire's young hero, Candide, asserts, is "the mania for asserting that all is well when one is not." The danger of optimism, Voltaire believed, lies in its essentially passive response to life. If God has given human beings "the best of all possible worlds," as Leibniz claimed, and if everything that happens is somehow for the best, then to what point is human choice and action? In this well-balanced study, Mason relates the events in Voltaire's personal life and in the world around him that contributed to his revolt: the death of his closest companion; his exile from Paris; the catastrophic Lisbon earthquake of 1755; the eruption and often ruthless conduct of the Seven Years' War. The real-life hardships of psychological pain, natural disaster, and war, Voltaire found, could not be rationalized away by philosophy.".
- catalog contributor b4109316.
- catalog created "c1992.".
- catalog date "1992".
- catalog date "c1992.".
- catalog dateCopyrighted "c1992.".
- catalog description "Candide came into being largely because of Voltaire's great dissatisfaction with the explanation for the problem of evil and human suffering provided by the philosophers of his day. Published in 1759 when Voltaire was 65, Candide was a direct attack on the school of optimism championed by German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and English poet Alexander Pope and popularized in the adventure and romance novels of the period. Optimism, Voltaire's young hero, Candide, asserts, is "the mania for asserting that all is well when one is not." The danger of optimism, Voltaire believed, lies in its essentially passive response to life. If God has given human beings "the best of all possible worlds," as Leibniz claimed, and if everything that happens is somehow for the best, then to what point is human choice and action?".
- catalog description "In this well-balanced study, Mason relates the events in Voltaire's personal life and in the world around him that contributed to his revolt: the death of his closest companion; his exile from Paris; the catastrophic Lisbon earthquake of 1755; the eruption and often ruthless conduct of the Seven Years' War. The real-life hardships of psychological pain, natural disaster, and war, Voltaire found, could not be rationalized away by philosophy.".
- catalog description "Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-120) and index.".
- catalog description "chronology: Voltaire's life and works -- Literary and Historical Context. 1. The Context. 2. The Importance of Candide. 3. Critical Reception -- A Reading. 4. History. 5. Philosophy and Meaning. 6. Personal and Interpersonal. 7. Structure and Form.".
- catalog extent "xvi, 124 p. ;".
- catalog hasFormat "Candide.".
- catalog identifier "0805780858 (cloth)".
- catalog identifier "0805785590 (pbk.)".
- catalog isFormatOf "Candide.".
- catalog isPartOf "Twayne's masterwork studies ; no. 104".
- catalog issued "1992".
- catalog issued "c1992.".
- catalog language "eng".
- catalog publisher "New York : Twayne Publishers ; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International,".
- catalog relation "Candide.".
- catalog subject "843/.5 20".
- catalog subject "PQ2082.C4 M36 1992".
- catalog subject "Voltaire, 1694-1778. Candide.".
- catalog tableOfContents "chronology: Voltaire's life and works -- Literary and Historical Context. 1. The Context. 2. The Importance of Candide. 3. Critical Reception -- A Reading. 4. History. 5. Philosophy and Meaning. 6. Personal and Interpersonal. 7. Structure and Form.".
- catalog title "Candide : optimism demolished / Haydn Mason.".
- catalog type "text".