How Does Voltaire View Human Nature?

Overall, Voltaire had a pessimistic view of human nature. He believed that there was no such thing as a perfect world, but that the world could be made better with some work.

French philosopher Voltaire believed that if humans replaced their superstition and ignorance with rational thought and knowledge, the world would be a better place.

Despite his belief that a perfect world did not exist, he did create a utopia in one of his most well-known pieces of prose, “Candide.” In “Candide,” he critiqued the philosophy of metaphysical optimism. In addition to his works of prose, his writings focused on challenging common beliefs at the time related to topics like military and political events.