I can tell you all right now that I don't have a damn clue who these philosophers of old would vote for in this year's presidential election. Hell, I don't even know the names of all the candidates. However, I do wonder if either of them would even vote at all.
It seems that Voltaire was a believer in self-determination of purpose, which is evident in Candide, as no matter what sort of societies the characters encountered or what trials they faced, they reached their own conclusion in the end. Their experiences contributed to them finally settling in the garden, but at the end of the day, no one exerted outside influence on the existence they had carved out for themselves. I don't think that Voltaire would appreciate casting his vote for ANY individual that would be in a position to make decisions about his life. Camus, too, appears to question the meaning of his existence and would probably like to be able to determine his own fate. In my view, both Voltaire and Camus would likely prefer not only not to vote, but leave society altogether. It seems as though the characters in Candide and Mersault in The Stranger are nothing but victims of societal influence, and it could be concluded that the two works are manifestations of the authors' desire to exit society and live unconstrained by it. Based on that reasoning, neither of them would vote for any kind of external oppressor.
You are the third person to think this! I agree, although I didn't write my blog on it. I ranted about the French Revolution and the many problems the French have with their government in the first place
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said, Artem. I also addressed the situation and said that neither Camus nor Voltaire would vote, as they either see it to be pointless or do not agree on the act.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily agree with your statement that Voltaire would lke to leave society. I think Voltaire considered himself isolated in his thoughts, but he was not a recluse from society.
Interesting, I agree with camus not voting but don't you think Voltaire's hatred of monarchical rule would make him present in the representative democracy we live in, where all have a say in what happens, or at least a vote.
ReplyDeleteThose votes become meaningless when the information that the voting citizenry bases its decisions on is thoroughly unverified and oriented towards exacerbating the increasingly profitable party affiliation conflict that we have in our country. Many are misinformed or blind, easily manipulated. Therefore, we are poorly represented in our famed representative democracy. Additionally, the resolution of national issues is seriously hindered by our social obsession with party affiliation. Voltaire would have chosen not to cast his vote.
DeleteI also don't think they would choose to vote. And regardless, I highly doubt that Voltaire and Camus would ever live in the States in the first place.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. But I do not think that either man would want to "leave society altogether". Camus would probably just mind his own business and go with the flow and Voltaire would find his own meaning in society without the interruption of the people around him.
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