SOURCE: Kivy, Peter. “Voltaire, Hume, and the Problem of Evil.” Philosophy and Literature 3, no. 2 (fall 1979): 211-24.

In the following essay, Kivy argues for the restoration of Candide's status as a text of philosophical significance.

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Voltaire's Candide is subtitled Optimism. It is about an impossibly naive young man who suffers incredible misfortune, while counselled by his teacher, Pangloss, to perceive the hidden benefits that this merely “apparent” misfortune and misery produce. Pangloss' speeches in this regard are well-larded with phrases and terms coined or made famous by Leibniz, and, so as not to leave the connection merely hinted at, the name of the philosopher himself is also invoked, as for example, where Voltaire has Pangloss say: “I still hold my original views, for I am still a philosopher. It would not be proper for me to recant, especially as Leibniz cannot be wrong; and besides, the pre-established...