“What is
tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and
error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of
nature.” -Voltaire
Voltaire
(1694-1778) was among the most influential writers in France during his life.
As a free-thinking philosopher, poet, and playwright, Voltaire constantly
challenged and subverted the repressive measures used by the Church and State
of both France and Europe. Given his strong opposition to these forms of repression,
it doesn’t come as a shock to read his derogatory argument against mankind in
his essay titled “Policy” (or “Politique”).
Voltaire
writes this argument on “policy” as part of his “Philosophical Dictionary”—which
was comprised of a large volume of personal philosophical writings, writings
that were to be subsequently read by the effete, preeminent political and
religious leaders in France. Voltaire’s deliberative argument centers itself
around the exploration of a central concept: mankind’s animalistic desire for subsistence and accommodation is the cause
of the formation, and the destruction, of society. Voltaire uses the literary
devices of parison, metaphor, and synecdoche to give his narration an objective,
omniscient feeling for his readers—which proved all the better to spread his
philosophies.
Voltaire
expresses a parison between man and animal with several metaphorical contrasts
between bees, beavers, silk-worms, and lions. Each example and metaphor
compounds against the previous one in order to create a logical, natural reasoning
in the minds of his audience. This vituperation of man’s subconscious decisions,
this heaping of abuse against the governing urges of mankind, is one way
Voltaire begins to press his philosophies through the gate of logic that guards
the minds of his audience.
More
influential than his dehumanizing metaphors, Voltaire powerfully subverts the conceptual
entities of both government and societal power through the use of synecdoche—serving
to simultaneously build his personal ethos and destroy the pathos behind any
specific political entity (e.g. the Catholic Church, King Louis, etc.). Voltaire
hardly shares any examples of specific nations, governments, or social entities
by a given name. By addressing, through a summation, a controversial entity, Voltaire
is able to increase a mood of generality a logical apathy—an increasing
objectivity—towards all “nations, or rather clans.”
I find the idea of the dehumanizing metaphors rather intriguing. I think in the terms of a revolution, you need to get people to be willing to fight. Using a metaphor that makes the opponent seem less human makes them easier to attack. Going against a vicious animal seems more noble than attaching a human. It is interesting how we have kept this in modern day politics too. We classify parties as animals as well and it opens the way for attacks.
ReplyDeleteThe first quote and your last paragraph remind me of what you said with the last topic you took up for this class, which was, in fact, tolerance. Which seems a little funny, because we don't typically pick up our pitchforks and torches at the sound of that word. His subject is pretty strange anyway--who calls for a revolution against humanity itself (the ugly part of humanity, but nevertheless...). Very interesting stuff.
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