Comparing Socrates' Philosophy with Voltaire's

          Since the inception of human civilization, there have been philosophers who have pursued answers to the fundamental ideas related with our lives. Philosophers have investigated abstract things such as thinking, metaphysics, logic, art, religion, knowledge, mind, and ethics and so on. They have inquired answers to the fundamental problems of human life by critical thinking and using rational arguments. And there have been ideas that have been pondered upon by people of different civilizations and time. Out of many philosophers we will compare and contrast the philosophical attitude of two brilliant minds of markedly different time: Socrates and Voltaire.

          Socrates’ attitude about philosophy was mainly dominated by the argument about what is good and the disagreement between people about it. He claimed that people always go for good things. They do wrong because they think that it will do good to them or give them some sort of pleasure. Upon realizing that it is bad, they would not do it anymore. On the other hand, Voltaire’s view, based on the Good Brahmin’s case, stresses on happiness and ignorance. He states that happiness is best achieved when we are ignorant but that kind of happiness is not worthwhile. The Brahmin laments his lack of knowledge about reality and his own existence despite being a learned man. Had he been a “simpleton” he would have had no regrets, yet he does not desire such felicity. This creates a contradiction in itself and raises even further questions.

          As of now, both seem to have different ideas. Nevertheless, if we see things from a different angle, we may still find some similarities between them. According to Socrates, people do wrong things because they think that it will give them happiness. This is analogous to the old lady in Voltaire’s description who was content with the life without knowledge and considered herself the happiest women. If she was educated, she would have never liked such life- a life of illusions. Another similarity between their attitudes towards philosophy is that Socrates used inductive method to develop “universal definitions”, and we can clearly see that Voltaire used the same inductive approach to derive his conclusion from the Good Brahmin’s case. 

References:

Pecorino, P.A. (2000), Chapter 2: The Greeks- Socrates Legacy, An Introduction to Philosophy, Accessed: September 9, 2013 from http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/INTRO_TEXT/Chapter%202%20GREEKS/Socrates_Legacy.htm

Voltaire (n.d.), Story of a Good Brahmin, Translated by: Woolf, H.I., Accessed: September 9, 2013 from http://www.k-state.edu/english/baker/english287/Voltaire-Story_of_a_Good_Brahmin.htm

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