I Think Therefore I am, The Best of All Possibilities

Descartes’ Discourse on the Method allows readers to learn of the natural light of the mind through a series of steps and a well-constructed argument. Descartes’ writings warn of the dangers of following a bad teacher of philosophy and how one can avoid such dangers, essentially laying  the groundwork for what good philosophy should be judged or measured against. This method strongly contrasts the philosophy by Pangloss in Voltaire’s Candide, which is poorly constructed, never backed by evidence, and does not allow for the expansion of the mind. Voltaire wrote the character Pangloss to symbolize weak philosophy, while Descartes wrote the Method to teach people how to judge how flawed philosophy can be. 

Descartes’ approach follows a very systematic process that places emphasis on having evidence before one believes a philosophy to be correct. Descartes wrote the Discourse on the Method so that all people, possessing good sense (5), would be able to reason properly and live accordingly. Descartes believed that the power to judge life correctly was a gift given to all people. However, not everyone uses their good sense, and those who do not reason correctly are brutes. Descartes writes that he was not trying to teach the method that everyone should follow; but rather, he shows his readers how he carries the method out (Descartes 6). This revelation shows a personal connection Descartes had to his writing, by saying how he lives his life and sharing it in hopes to lead others to a good, reasoned life. Descartes placed emphasis on cultivating solid philosophy and not building on plausible philosophy until it has been proven. In part two, Descartes teaches readers that having teachers can hinder students in their reason. According to Descartes, teachers who instill preconceived judgements into students without allowing the students to reason themselves, lead to people who will not be of the proper mind.

Pangloss is the unfailingly optimistic tutor of philosophy to the naive character, Candide. Pangloss taught metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology (Voltaire 2), which should be the  first clue to his readers that Pangloss is not to be taken seriously. Pangloss believed that life was simply a cycle of cause and effect, and that all that occurs in the world is  the best possible way it could be. Throughout the novel, Pangloss’ philosophy is followed by multiple characters, though it  leads to many unhappy lives. Pangloss’ Philosophy demonstrates  how foolhardy optimism can be and how philosophy should never be followed blindly. Throughout the novel, horrible events occur to all the characters. Pangloss is expelled from the castle when it is overthrown, and when Candide meets him again, Pangloss is a beggar and sick with disease. Voltaire deliberately corrupted the image of philosophy by putting Pangloss in a horrible condition and still having him believe in his poorly structured philosophy. Although Pangloss has a terrible disease, he says that it is a necessary evil and worth it because the world has chocolate. Which is a clear clue to readers that Pangloss has a skewed outlook on

life, because he is trying to force his philosophy to work, instead of allowing true reason to guide him.

Both Descartes and Pangloss try to teach people how they should look at life and how they should live. The difference between the two philosophers is the evidence supporting their claims. Descartes is a very systematic and eloquent writer; he clearly describes the minds of people who reason and the minds of those who do not. Descartes places all people into two groups based on their minds and how they use them. The first group is comprised of those people who believe they are smarter than they are, and they jump to conclusions, remaining lost forever. Pangloss, unfortunately, is this type of person Descartes describes. Pangloss jumps to the conclusion that the world is as good as it can be and there is no reason to change his philosophy. Pangloss believes he is correct, and he tries to put his philosophy into every situation he can, even when it makes no sense. Pangloss even allows a man to drown because he said that the lake was made expressly for that man to drown in (Voltaire 12). Voltaire wrote the character Pangloss, and it works as the very embodiment of the first type of mind, which Descartes warned readers against and urged readers not to be.

Descartes and Pangloss are both philosophers and they both believe they hold important views of the world. However, Pangloss is a fictional character that Voltaire uses as comedic relief for his novel to show an embodiment of a bad philosopher. Pangloss demonstrates  what happens when people blindly follow a learned person and do not take the time to build their own reasoning faculties. Similarly, Descartes wrote his discourse to warn readers that without thinking for themselves and building their own personal worldview, they would be lost to the true nature of the mind. Descartes is essentially teaching that following others is only acceptable after they have been proven to be worthy of having followers. The Method gives readers the steps required to seek the natural truths based on their own knowledge and allowing readers to form their own thoughts and opinions. Pangloss is the very embodiment of the dangers that Descartes wrote about, allowing  people to blindly follow him because he believes he is smarter than he truly is, and he is not humble as he should be. Descartes wrote the Method, which should be read by everyone, to avoid having a world full of Pangloss followers.