Voltaire: the shape and the thought

The european culture was crossed during the eighteenth century by a great turmoil , which had its center in the France of Voltaire : is the Age of Enlightenment , the century of absolute confidence in human reason , called to enlighten people's minds against the superstitions and prejudices , ideological premise of the French Revolution . Hence the profound contemporary critique of the idea of an absolute state , enemy of intellectual autonomy of citizens.
Voltaire, a passionate advocate of religious tolerance and human rights , should not be considered only the most important personality of the Enlightenment, but especially the modern prototype of the intellectual , fighting even against those philosophical systems which considers too far away from real life and based on abstract principles : therefore not so much a philosopher , but rather a militant .
For Voltaire in fact the philosophy should not be an intellectual adventure whose results should always arouse the doubt, but given the increasingly resemble the natural sciences , to be understood as an instrument of human emancipation , a means to get rid of prejudices and a concrete well-being : thus, for example , on the basis of the doctrine deist , recognizes the existence of a higher being creator of the world (the "great watchmaker " , he calls it ) , but refuses to illustrate attributes , because for men with unintelligible clarity ; likewise, denies the divine intervention in earthly mathers according to non verifiable criterias , but rather prefer to assign value to human actions in the light of their effects on society. Even under the ethical point of view , therefore, does not resort to justifications of transcendent order to explain the origin of evil , but we shall accept as a natural part of the human condition .
Free humanity from superstition , to increase the wealth and knowledge , progress towards universal civilization : this was the project of the Enlightenment that inspired Voltaire in his incessant campaigns against injustice and in its permanent and violent criticism of the civil power and religious era. The aim of all his work which was not in fact to re-establish the European life on a different basis from those of absolutism and Christianity.
Extreme dogmatic in his conception of civilization , was instead extremely pragmatic and relativist as to the political forms to take : the best regime remains for him the one that best promotes civilization , but its nature depends, from the place and circumstances.
For Voltaire the scope of the philosopher is in the actuality in which intervene effectively, actively keeping faith with the commitment that the role forces to, in order to improve the lives of men : it is necessary to improve the social institutions and defend the fundamental human rights, including first and foremost the freedom of thought.
The primary interest that Voltaire has for the present , however, does not lead to the devaluation of the story, which is always at the center of his research : its rich historical project , however, is based on the survey of the philosophical process of civilization of mankind , which occurred through the ages thanks to the guidance of reason.
The love of truth is a continuous revolution , which allows to judge the historical revolutions for what they are worth : happy when they involve a step forward, criminals when they are bloody . All the work of Voltaire is dedicated to freedom, that is his only reason for being and its largest and most still relevant teaching.

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