Voltaire’s Challenge of the Age of Reason

choose one of the topics below and follow the instructions.
Write on one (1) of the following topics:
Topic 1:
After reading Candide, write a paper comparing the optimistic philosophy of Pangloss
with the pessimism of Martin. Explain how Voltaire uses this contrast to challenge the
assumptions of the Age of Reason. Note how Voltaire attacks philosophical reasoning
generally, along with the irrationality of organized religion.
Topic 2:
Google “The Swing” and “Nude on a Sofa” by Rococo artists Fragonard and Boucher,
and the neoclassical works “The Oath of the Horatii” and “La Grande Odalisque” by
David and Ingres. Write a paper contrasting the amoral decadence and excess of the
Rococo painters with the more serious and refined works of the Neoclassicists. Connect
Rococo to the reign of Louis XVI and Neoclassicism to the rise of the philosophes and
revolutionaries in France.
 Your response should be 850 words in length
 Use MLA format for any quotations or citations that you use to support your
answer
Plagiarism
Three common types of plagiarism you need to be aware of as a student:
 Recycling a paper; “double-dipping”; self-plagiarism: Reusing a paper you have
written for a previous course
 Copying directly from a source without proper quotations or
paraphrasing: When you try to pass something off as your own work
 Not using proper citations

Answer Preview……………

Dr. Pangloss and Martin are philosophers which Voltaire’s Candide accurately compares. Voltaire’s novel can be labeled as radical in the way it challenges the notions of the Age of Enlightenment and brings reality against daydreaming in the story of the two characters. Essentially, the novel pits two characters who act as advisors and guides to Candide and their comparison effectively outlines Voltaire’s views of the various thinkers of the age. With Pangloss’s daydreaming philosophy and Martin’s abject pessimism, Voltaire is able to harmonize the worldview of these two characters to make a statement about the reality of life even in this age of renewed reasoning. The contrasting characteristics of Martin and Pangloss present an opportunity for Voltaire to criticize and reject all daydreaming notions of the Age of Reason and introduce a reasonable way of approaching life. Voltaire is critical of philosophical reasoning mainly because he argues that the philosophers do too much talking with little to show for it. First, Pangloss brings out this type of character trait. It is notable that Pangloss as a name means “all-tongue” and this could be directly…………

APA 919 words