What did Voltaire do to the Enlightenment?

It was therefore Voltaire's literary and rhetorical contributions to the Enlightenment which were truly unique. Interested neither in music (like Rousseau) nor in art (like Diderot), Voltaire was fundamentally a man of language. read more

Voltaire's contributions to Enlightenment philosophy were primarily in the form of the popularization of British ideals amongst French intellectuals and his outspoken calls to action when it came to promoting the "common sense" ideas of the Enlightenment. read more

Voltaire's Letters concerning the English Nation (1733, in English), which appeared (1734) in French as Lettres philosophiques, may be said to have initiated the vogue of English philosophy and science that characterized the literature of the Enlightenment. read more

Voltaire's histories imposed the values of the Enlightenment on the past, but at the same time he helped free historiography from antiquarianism, Eurocentrism, religious intolerance and a concentration on great men, diplomacy, and warfare. read more