i like him 2

A great man of letters but hardly a philosopher. A provocateur but not a genius. An exposer of every injustice but not a brilliant political thinker.

A brilliant writer and philospher whose works, judging by the comments below, have lost neither their relevance or their capacity to inspire...strong feelings. Rivaled only by Swift in his mastery of satire. In 'Candide' Voltaire ridicules the theological idea that we live 'In the best of all possible worlds' by sending his adventurers through a series of ever-more-disastrous calamities; in 'Zadig' he basically invented the modern Detective story; in his letters and 'Dictionary', Voltaire brought English scientific ideas, as well as novel concepts of political and religious liberty, to France and Continental Europe. Not the greatest philospher, but Voltaire remains impressive for the quality of his prose and his wide range of interest.

Gicau - are we talking about the same man? Voltaire believed in God? Really?? Voltaire was famous for being out to prove that the Bible was a fabrication and should be done away with. He predicted during his lifetime that nobody in the world would even know what the Bible was by the time the 1800's rolled around. Well, God had the last laugh. When Voltaire died, his house was purchased by the Bible Society for the production and distribution of God's word - The Bible.

Claimed to be bouth a Cartasian and a Leibnizian but disagreed with Leibniz on us been put on the best of posible world. Belived in God, was Center-wing. Had fights with Rousue and had a dislike for jews. I found his fantasy story 'Candide' one of the best I have ever read.

Fanciful writer but not a first rate mind.