The Philosophical Dictionary, Voltaire
The Philosophical Dictionary, Voltaire
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The Philosophical Dictionary

Author: Voltaire

Narrator: Donal Donnelly

Unabridged: 4 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 03/10/2008


Synopsis

-A collection of Voltaire's ideas and thoughts that were too short for pamphlets but worth saving for later development-wise and witty entries on subjects as diverse as atheism and kissing.

About Voltaire

Francois Marie Arouet (pen name Voltaire) was born on November 21, 1694, in Paris. Voltaire's intelligence, wit, and style made him one of France's greatest writers and philosophers.

Young Francois Marie received his education at Louis-le-Grand, a Jesuit college in Paris, where he said he learned nothing but "Latin and the Stupidities." He left school at age seventeen and soon made friends among the Parisian aristocrats. His humorous verses made him a favorite in society circles. In 1717, his sharp wit got him into trouble with the authorities. He was imprisoned in the Bastille for eleven months for writing a scathing satire of the French government. During his time in prison Francois Marie wrote Oedipe, which was to become his first theatrical success, and also adopted his pen name.

In 1726, Voltaire insulted the powerful young nobleman Chevalier De Rohan and was given two options: imprisonment or exile. He chose exile, and from 1726 to 1729 lived in England. While in England, Voltaire was attracted to the philosophy of John Locke and the ideas of the mathematician and scientist Sir Isaac Newton. He studied England's Constitutional Monarchy and its religious tolerance. Voltaire was particularly interested in the philosophical rationalism of the time and in the study of the natural sciences. After returning to Paris, he wrote a book praising English customs and institutions. It was interpreted as criticism of the French government, and in 1734 Voltaire was forced to leave Paris again.

At the invitation of the Marquise du Chatelet, Voltaire moved into her Chateau de Cirey near Luneville in eastern France. They studied the natural sciences together for several years. In 1746, Voltaire was voted into the Academie Francaise. In 1749, after the death of the Marquise du Chatelet, he moved to Potsdam (near Berlin in Germany). In 1753, Voltaire left Potsdam to return to France.

In 1759, Voltaire purchased an estate called "Ferney" near the French-Swiss border, where he lived until just before his death. Ferney soon became the intellectual capital of Europe. Voltaire worked continuously throughout the years, producing a constant flow of books, plays, and other publications. He wrote hundreds of letters to his circle of friends. He was always considered a voice of reason. Voltaire was often an outspoken critic of religious intolerance and persecution.

Voltaire returned to a hero's welcome in Paris at age eighty-three. The excitement of the trip was too much for him, and he died in Paris in 1778. Among the major works Voltaire gave to the world are Zadig, a philosophical story of religious and metaphysical orthodoxy, and one of his most celebrated works; "Micromegas," a short story whose ideas helped to create the genre of science fiction; the French satire Candide, which is considered Voltaire's master work; and the Dictionnaire Philosophique, a lifelong project that represents the culmination of Voltaire's views on Christianity, God, morality, and other subjects.


Reviews

لا يستلزم هذا الكتاب قراءة متصلة. و لكن من أي موضع يفتحه القارىء سيجد فيه مادة جديرة بالتأمل. إن أكثر الكتب فائدة هي تلك الكتب التي يؤلف القراء أنفسهم نصفها. فهم يتوسعون في الأفكار التي تُقدم بذرتها إليهم. و يصوبون ما يبدو خاطئا. و يعززون بتأملاتهم ما يبدو لهم ضعيفا. حقا. لا يمكن لهذا الكتاب أن يقرأ......more

Goodreads review by Tahani

مقتطفات من الكتاب .. . . "كيف أمَكن لإنسان أن يُصبح سيد إنسان آخر؟ بأي نوع مِن السِّحر المُبَهم استطاع أن يُصبح سيد أناس آخرين كثيرين؟ يجب أن نتفق على أن كل الناس قد ولدوا متساوين وأن العنف والمهارة قد صنَعا الأسياد الأولين، وتكفَّلت القوانين بصنع الآخِرين". “أعظم بَلِيَّة يُبتلى بها الأديب، هي غيرة أقرا......more

Goodreads review by Roy

There is the history of opinions, which is hardly anything but a collection of human errors. I turned to this book, partly, as an antidote to Henry James’s prose. Where James is convoluted, orotund, and ambiguous, Voltaire is quick, sprightly, and specific. His prose rolls along in a series of wi......more

Goodreads review by Riku

Aptly described as 'a deplorable monument of the extent to which inteligence and erudition can be abused'. The circumcised selection of topics illustrate how truly limited Voltaire's supposed erudition was. Pick up only if you want to while away empty hours in trains, plotting definitive revolutions......more