The following is a list of the major general ideas, ideals, and values of the Enlightenment found in Voltaire’s Candide , published in 1759. They are concepts as the Enlightenment philosophes understood them. 1. Freedom : especially freedom of thought, necessary for autonomy (“freedom from external control or influence; independence”), as Kant indicated in his definition of Enlightenment;  2. Humanism: a concern for humanity, what is uniquely human, and for solving human problems;  3. Cosmopolitanism: familiarity with different cultures obtained through travel;  4. Toleration; the practice of tolerating people who differ from you in their opinions, practices, religions, etc.  5. Secularism: worldliness; removing religion from explanations about how the world or aspects of it work;  6. Pagan self-reliance: relying on yourself to solve problems, instead of praying to your god or the gods to help you;   7. Empiricism: strictly speaking, “the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience”; but it can also mean, as Voltaire used it, learning from experience;  8. For cultural relativism: ‘the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another”; in other words, it means being non-judgmental when one encounters people who display different practices or  beliefs than those accepted as the norm in your culture; that is, you try to understand people who are different in terms of their culture, not yours. As such, it is the opposite of ethnocentrism , which constitutes being judgmental, as one evaluates “other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture,”  This can be a toughie, so here’s a clue from Candide : monkeys, and the difference between how Candide and Cacambo react when they see them.  9. Realism: “the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.” Let’s see. Candide is subtitled Optimism , a stance that is represented by Pangloss; Martin, another character, is a pessimist in his outlook, the complete opposite of Pangloss. Which three characters represent realism?  Bonus: What is the meaning of the famous last line of Candide ?  “’All that is very well,’ answered Candide, ‘but let us cultivate our garden.’” What does Voltaire mean?  Provide a brief explanation. Your assignment is to find a scene or a theme in Candide that illustrates concepts one through nine and explain briefly how it does. .

1. The following is a list of the major general ideas, ideals, and
values of the Enlightenment
found in Voltaire’s
Candide
, published in 1759. They are concepts as the Enlightenment
philosophes understood them.
1.
Freedom
: especially freedom of thought, necessary for autonomy
(“freedom from external control or influence; independence”),
as Kant indicated in his definition of Enlightenment;
2.
Humanism:
a concern for humanity, what is uniquely human, and for
solving human problems;
3.
Cosmopolitanism:
familiarity with different cultures obtained through travel;
4.
Toleration;
the practice of tolerating people who differ from you in their
opinions, practices, religions, etc.
5.
Secularism:
worldliness; removing religion from explanations about how
the world or aspects of it work;

2. 6.
Pagan self-reliance:
relying on yourself to solve problems, instead of praying to
your god or the gods to help you;
7.
Empiricism:
strictly speaking, “the theory that all knowledge is derived
from sense-experience”; but it can also mean, as Voltaire used
it, learning from experience;
8. For
cultural relativism:
‘the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be
understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be
judged against the criteria of another”; in other words, it means
being non-judgmental when one encounters people who display
different practices or beliefs than those accepted as the norm in
your culture; that is, you try to understand people who are
different in terms of their culture, not yours. As such,
it is the opposite of ethnocentrism
, which constitutes being judgmental, as one evaluates “other
cultures according to preconceptions originating in the
standards and customs of one's own culture,” This can be a
toughie, so here’s a clue from
Candide
: monkeys, and the difference between how Candide and
Cacambo react when they see them.
9.
Realism:
“the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and
being prepared to deal with it accordingly.” Let’s see.
Candide
is subtitled
Optimism

3. , a stance that is represented by Pangloss; Martin, another
character, is a pessimist in his outlook, the complete opposite of
Pangloss. Which
three
characters represent realism?
Bonus: What is the meaning of the famous last line of
Candide
? “’All that is very well,’ answered Candide, ‘but let us
cultivate our garden.’” What does Voltaire mean? Provide a
brief explanation.
Your assignment is to find a scene or a theme in
Candide
that illustrates concepts one through nine and explain briefly
how it does.