Central Concepts of the Enlightenment in 'L'Ingenu' Anonymous College

Voltaire’s work L’Ingenu follows the main character, the Ingenu, across the Atlantic into England and then shortly thereafter chronicles his travels into the province of Brittany in northern France. There are various examples of the spirit of the Enlightenment that show Voltaire’s rejection to the old ideas of society, which at the time were based around deep-rooted traditions and people’s religious faiths, while at the same time promoting the new age idea of using logic and reason to help reform civilization. Voltaire used writing as his tool to encourage the general public to accept these radical new thoughts, as he wrote in a letter in 1767, “I write to act,” and that he did using his gift of writing to promote the Age of Enlightenment.

The Age of Enlightenment was a time of drastic change, as intellectuals were challenging the age-old values that society was then built upon. The ideas were coined from various philosophers such as John Locke, Isaac Newton, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, and of course Voltaire. These wise philosophers promoted the ideas that modern science and reason can help to improve people’s daily lives. Three fundamental ideas stemmed from these thoughts; individualism, relativism, and rationalism. The...