Welcome to Quare, the educational podcast for young and old alike. Today, in the Art & Culture category, this episode is dedicated to Voltaire.

Who is Voltaire?

He is one of the greatest French writers and philosophers. He was born in Paris in 1694, under the name François-Marie Arouet, and died in 1778, at the age of 83. He lived in an era known as the Age of Enlightenment, a time in history when thinkers sought to illuminate Europe through reason and knowledge.

Why did he change his name?

François-Marie Arouet adopted the pen name "Voltaire" around the age of 24, to distinguish himself and establish a new identity as a writer. It was also a way to protect himself, since he wrote texts that were highly critical of those in power. Under the Ancien Régime, an author who dared to criticise the king or the Church risked imprisonment or exile.

Did he actually get into trouble?

Enormously! He was imprisoned twice in the Bastille for writings deemed too audacious. He was exiled to England for three years, which allowed him to discover new ideas about freedom of thought. He then spent many years near the Franco-Swiss border to escape the French authorities, all while continuing to write and publish.

What did he write?

His works are very varied: plays, poems, philosophical essays and tales. His most famous work is Candide, published in 1759. It is the story of a naïve young man who travels the world and discovers that "all is not for the best in the best of all possible worlds." It is a funny and fierce satire against war, religious intolerance and the injustices of his time.

What exactly was the Age of Enlightenment?

It was a period in history spanning from the early 18th century to the French Revolution in 1789. The Enlightenment philosophers — such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Diderot — believed that reason and knowledge should guide humanity, rather than religion, fear or tradition. They championed ideas such as freedom of expression, religious tolerance, separation of powers and equality of rights. These ideas profoundly influenced the French Revolution and modern democracies.

What exactly did he stand for?

He was the champion of tolerance. He despised religious fanaticism and fought his entire life for freedom of conscience. He publicly intervened in scandalous judicial affairs, such as the Calas affair, where an innocent Protestant had been sentenced to death on the basis of religious prejudice. Voltaire wrote, pleaded, campaigned, and succeeded in obtaining the posthumous rehabilitation of the innocent man. He was one of the first committed intellectuals in the modern sense of the term.

Was he criticised for anything?

Yes, Voltaire was not free from contradictions. He held shares in trading companies, which in his era could have included ties to the slave trade, although his exact role is still debated by historians. Furthermore, some criticised him for his arrogance and his fondness for conflict: he loved to crush his enemies with his pen, sometimes in a cruel manner. His relationship with Rousseau, for example, ended in open warfare.

Did he inspire others?

Profoundly! The French revolutionaries drew on his ideas. Thomas Jefferson and the American Founding Fathers admired him. Victor Hugo quoted him. Even today, we use the expression "Voltairean" to describe someone who defends freedom of expression with wit and bite. His work shaped the values of the French Republic.

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