Few enlightenment thinkers are as famous as the French writer Voltaire. Born into a modest though socially ambitious family, he found his talent for writing early and by his late teens was punching way above his weight as a playwright and poet earning accolades and raising eyebrows for his witty use of satire to make not-so-subtle criticisms of church and state. Indeed he would spend his entire adult life dodging the authorities, often writing under multiple pseudonyms and denying authorship of most of his scandalous books, for which there was no shortage of interest among the literate class of Paris, while the government burned his prolific output on a continuous basis in the public square. In his long and productive life he would write more than 2000 books and articles- including several massive encyclopaedic volumes. He would correspond with both monarchs and nobodies, on subjects as diverse as geology and free-speech; history and biology; mathematics and religious tolerance. His fortunes would take him from the Bastille and exile to the court of Frederick the Great, back to the Bastille and exile again. His very name became synonymous with both scandal and genius, and yet despite his herculean output, he nevertheless found time to advocate for the downtrodden and oppressed classes – often at substantial personal expense. He would ferociously denounce laws and customs he believed were unjust and savage his enemies in brutal polemical arguments, yet was incredibly generous to the point of being a sucker. He had an iron wit yet was an interminable hypochondriac. He was a Frenchman who loved the English way of life, always tearing at the fabric of his corrupt society. Perhaps more than any other individual of the time, his works challenged people to think deeply about the need to evolve our institutions and culture to be more humane, rational and accountable. If you want to know a bit more about this genius who stood at the crossroads between the old Europe and the New, then join us, as we dive into life and times of Voltaire, the Rascal philosopher. #voltaire #history #france #enlightenment #philosophy 00:00 02:57 The Hundred Years War 13:05 Franco-Spanish War & the Fronde Rebellion 20:30 Voltaire's Family Background 23:30 The Jansenists 33:00 Young Voltaire's early literary exposure 38:00 Louis XV regency and trouble 42:17 Oedipe (Oedipus) 52:00 Danger, escape, and Lord Bolingbroke 55:05 La Henriade and King Henry IV of France 57:40 Insults, duels, the Bastille and exile to England 1:07:00 Zaïre 1:08:05 La Pucelle 1:11:00 Emilie- Marquise du Chatelet and the chateau of Cirey 1:16:00 Frederick the Great of Prussia 1:23:00 Prussia 1:27:00 Les Delices and Switzerland 1:30:00 Leibniz, the philosophy of Optimism and the Lisbon Earthquake 1:31:55 Candide 1:46:31 Jean Jacques Rousseau 1:51:00 Ferney 1:53:30 The Calas affair All footage used in this montage is for educational purposes. It remains the property of its respective creators, and is gratefully acknowledged in the end credits of the full length video. Copyright Disclaimer- under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. Please contact us on info@heroesandlegends.com.au if you have any concerns about its use. If you enjoy my content, leave your suggestions and comments below, and please consider making a donation via the heart-shaped Thanks link on your Youtube screen; via PayPal; or why not sign up as a Patreon supporter to help me continue making these unfunded educational videos: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4D958V58PAVDU https://www.patreon.com/heroesandlegends https://buymeacoffee.com/infoQh For an audio-narration only version of this video please visit the Heroes and Legends Documentary Channel Podcast, via Spotify, Itunes or other leading broadcasters. For resources, links to my other videos, merchandise, the latest social media posts and podcast links, please visit my Heroes and Legends Website: www.heroesandlegends.com.au

• published: 16 Sep 2023
• views: 121665