Voltaire and civil tolerance

Abstract

Of all the battles that Voltaire took on for his écraser l'Infâme, the appeal in favor of Tolerance is, surely, the one who most firmly shaped the contours of his political thinking. In the critical context of the 18th century, Voltaire brings to men the Treaty on Tolerance by which he seeks to assume the practical character of transforming a petition in principle into the secure bases of universal civil tolerance. How did it happen and with what philosophical originality did the author resort to the concept of civil tolerance? Therefore, in this article, we want to analyze the fundamentals of Tolerance and the Treaty as an instrument to disseminate Voltaire's ideas with the purpose of influencing public opinion; problematize the exemplary communication of History and, finally, evaluate the essential relationship between natural law and religion as underlying this concept. In this Direction, Voltaire's work in focus will trace the argumentative order and the originality with which Modernity approached the concept of civil tolerance.