Philosophical Optimism Life, death, and existence; every sentient beings at one time or another have perused each concepts in regards to their own lives, questioning the very philosophy that they had so easily accepted. In the novel Candide by Voltaire, Candide the naïve protagonist of the story who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in the best of all possible worlds. Wouldn’t …showed first 75 words of 1043 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1043 total…three greatest evils: "boredom, vice, and poverty." Candide deeply considers these words, and decides that they "must cultivate their garden." Even when the entire group has accepted the pastoral lifestyle, and has found content, Pangloss the Optimist attempts to prove how all their prior misfortunes were part of the necessary chain of events for them to reach happiness. Voltaire paints Pangloss as the true dolt of optimism, never realizing the errors in his own logic.