His real name: François-Marie Arouet
He was born in the late 1600s. French philosopher, author, political satirist. His many essays promoted civil liberties, including freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.
He was a deist who, some say, encouraged tolerance... yet he was highly critical of organized religions, to the point that many scholars perceived his work as antisemitic, anti-Catholic, and anti-Islamic.
Cool quote: "It does not require great art, or magnificently trained eloquence, to prove that Christians should tolerate each other. I, however, am going further: I say that we should regard all men as our brothers. What? The Turk my brother? The Chinaman my brother? The Jew? The Siam? Yes, without doubt; are we not all children of the same father and creatures of the same God?"
Here's an excellent overview of his life and lasting influence:
His novella Candide pokes fun at the simplistic philosophy that life on Earth is "The Best of All Possible Worlds."
Speaking of the best of all possible worlds... Do you like Candide? Do you like musicals? Then maybe you'll like Leonard Bernstein's musical: Candide!
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