Great Books III Fall 2009

Candide - Voltaire

"Is this the best of all possible worlds?"

Reading/Discussion Schedule

October 26 - pp. 1-72; October 29 - Finish it

Reading/Discussion Prompts

October 26

  1. How is suffering meaningful?
  2. "This is the best of all possible worlds" is really just an excuse for not _____.
  3. What do each of the following terms/phrases mean: sufficient reason, universal rule of reason, fortune, things could not have happened otherwise, everything is for the best, the law of conservation of happiness.

 

October 29

Come prepared to discuss what you believe to be Voltaire's point of the work. How does he pull it off?