Audience+Voltaire

Lara Gabrielsen Audience: Commonly known as Voltaire, this French philosopher established a clear, radical voice through his writings that emphasized his opinions on Enlightenment and human rights. He continuously grabbed attention from the public by stating his radical views on these subjects. An Enlightenment article on ABC-CLIO states, “He believed that a parliament should be elected by everyone, including women. He called for the abolition of slavery and the separation of church and state” (Enlightenment). By making radical points that included the equality of “women,” “slavery,” and the power between “church and state” he provoked the high powers of authority such as the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, and figures within parliament. However, within those enhanced points, he also gained support from lower class figures like women and slaves of whom had no power and practically no rights. His desire of separation of church and state was provoked by his views on religious intolerance. He believed in the church having many restrictions on how to live life, and how judgmental he believed figures within the church were. These radical views often lead to conflicts due to the audience of authority figures either within the church or the parliament taking offense, or even disagreeing with the bold statements he projected to the general public. His opinions, writings, and philosophies continuously lead back to his strong desire for religious tolerance and the problems he felt society had. An article on Voltaire that was published on: __History-world.org__  states, “Voltaire returned to his chosen themes: the establishment of religious tolerance, the growth of material prosperity, respect for the rights of man by the abolition of torture and useless punishments” (VOLTAIRE). By stating “returned,” it is ensured that Voltaire continuously promoted and fought for “religious tolerance, the growth of material prosperity, respect for the rights of man” (VOLTAIRE). He was passionate about the public being aware of his ideals towards these subjects and wanted to establish the same sense he had into them. By being continuously outspoken, he grabbed the attentions of many, whether it was the public, the church, or higher authority figures. Regardless of what kind of feedback he would receive, he kept his opinions strong, kept his audiences intact through writings and philosophies, and established a radical voice that has been seen throughout history as a strong promoter of Enlightenment and equality.



Works cited:

"Enlightenment." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.

“VOLTAIRE.” International World History Project. History-World. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.