Pardon the Interruption
Pardon the Interruption was a project modeled on ESPN's program of the same name. With a partner, we would attempt to educate our classmates about an assigned topic in under two minutes. The topic I was assigned (complete transcript below) was Voltaire and Rousseau, two extremely influential philosophers and authors of the 18th century.
Pardon the Interruption Transcript
Lars: We’re here today to talk about philosophers in the Enlightenment period. Most notably, the smartest and most popular philosopher, Voltaire. Voltaire’s real name was actually François-Marie Arouet, and he-
Kassandra: Wait a minute. Did you just say the smartest and most popular philosopher was Voltaire? Because that’s not true. The smartest philosopher of the Enlightenment period was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His writings and ideals practically started the French Revolution.
Lars: Ahhh pshhh, that’s nothing compared to Voltaire’s popularity and influence. He was the pinnacle of the elite literary society during this era. He wrote more than 2000 books about his philosophical ideas and arguments.
Kassandra: It is a widely known conspiracy that Voltaire didn’t actually come up with any of his ideas. Many artists and writers back then, and now, were under the impression that, while Voltaire’s writing skills were excellent, all his ideas were plagiarized. Rousseau, on the other hand, while he didn’t write as many books as Voltaire did, was completely original in all of his works.
Lars: Oh that’s simply petty jealousy. Voltaire’s ideas were so original, and so revolutionary, he was thrown in the Bastille for writing poetry. His wit and eloquence in his writing far surpassed anything that Rousseau could hope to output.
Kassandra: As he so “wittily” told Rousseau in a letter. If I’m not mistaken, Rousseau sent Voltaire a copy of his new book, to which Voltaire replied "I have received your new book against the human race, and thank you for it. Never was such a cleverness used in the design of making us all stupid. One longs, in reading your book, to walk on all fours. But as I have lost that habit for more than sixty years, I feel unhappily the impossibility of resuming it.”
Voltaire was disgusted by the human race as a whole; he hated the commoners, the aristocracy and all their religious and political values.
Lars: Yes, Voltaire wasn’t fond of the human race as a whole, but Rousseau was unable to appreciate or get along with anyone he met! A man who writes about how stupid the human race has come to be, is far inferior to Voltaire.
Kassandra: Rousseau’s writing is commonly misunderstood. He wrote about how the human race could evolve further, through higher thinking in culture and politics; unlike Voltaire’s satire about the French political complications. I think we can correctly assume that Voltaire’s ideas are what got him thrown in prison and eventually exiled from France.
Lars: No no no, you have this all wrong! Rousseau is the one who believed that education corrupts men! Voltaire was thrown into the Bastille because his work was so exceptional. His work inspired revolution.
Kassandra: Rousseau’s revolutionary ideas were far more profound than Voltaire’s. He believed that humankind needed to step above the petty ideals set by the monarchy. His ideals and thoughts were taken as gospel by the prevailing class of the French Revolution. Even the great Maximilian Robespierre idolized Rousseau, saying that “...Rousseau is the one man who, through the loftiness of his soul and the grandeur of his character, showed himself worthy of the role of teacher of mankind.”
Rousseau believed in a society governed by democracy, which is why his values became so influential in America as well. Voltaire believed, even through the turmoil of the revolution, that a monarchy would be an ideal government for any society to implement.
Lars: Rousseau was right about monarchy, it didn’t work and was a primitive form of government. But Voltaire had found an even better substitute. In one of his most famous works, Candide, he shares his new ideal philosophy that “it is up to us to cultivate our garden.” This is obviously the better idea, after all, our humanities class is based on taking control of our own learning.
*pause*
Lars: And taking control of your own learning will naturally enable you to decide who is better: Rousseau, or Voltaire?
Kassandra: Both their philosophies were extremely influential during the French Revolution and continue to be influential in today’s world. But who, exactly, was the better man?
Lars: It’s up to you to decide...
Kassandra: Wait a minute. Did you just say the smartest and most popular philosopher was Voltaire? Because that’s not true. The smartest philosopher of the Enlightenment period was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His writings and ideals practically started the French Revolution.
Lars: Ahhh pshhh, that’s nothing compared to Voltaire’s popularity and influence. He was the pinnacle of the elite literary society during this era. He wrote more than 2000 books about his philosophical ideas and arguments.
Kassandra: It is a widely known conspiracy that Voltaire didn’t actually come up with any of his ideas. Many artists and writers back then, and now, were under the impression that, while Voltaire’s writing skills were excellent, all his ideas were plagiarized. Rousseau, on the other hand, while he didn’t write as many books as Voltaire did, was completely original in all of his works.
Lars: Oh that’s simply petty jealousy. Voltaire’s ideas were so original, and so revolutionary, he was thrown in the Bastille for writing poetry. His wit and eloquence in his writing far surpassed anything that Rousseau could hope to output.
Kassandra: As he so “wittily” told Rousseau in a letter. If I’m not mistaken, Rousseau sent Voltaire a copy of his new book, to which Voltaire replied "I have received your new book against the human race, and thank you for it. Never was such a cleverness used in the design of making us all stupid. One longs, in reading your book, to walk on all fours. But as I have lost that habit for more than sixty years, I feel unhappily the impossibility of resuming it.”
Voltaire was disgusted by the human race as a whole; he hated the commoners, the aristocracy and all their religious and political values.
Lars: Yes, Voltaire wasn’t fond of the human race as a whole, but Rousseau was unable to appreciate or get along with anyone he met! A man who writes about how stupid the human race has come to be, is far inferior to Voltaire.
Kassandra: Rousseau’s writing is commonly misunderstood. He wrote about how the human race could evolve further, through higher thinking in culture and politics; unlike Voltaire’s satire about the French political complications. I think we can correctly assume that Voltaire’s ideas are what got him thrown in prison and eventually exiled from France.
Lars: No no no, you have this all wrong! Rousseau is the one who believed that education corrupts men! Voltaire was thrown into the Bastille because his work was so exceptional. His work inspired revolution.
Kassandra: Rousseau’s revolutionary ideas were far more profound than Voltaire’s. He believed that humankind needed to step above the petty ideals set by the monarchy. His ideals and thoughts were taken as gospel by the prevailing class of the French Revolution. Even the great Maximilian Robespierre idolized Rousseau, saying that “...Rousseau is the one man who, through the loftiness of his soul and the grandeur of his character, showed himself worthy of the role of teacher of mankind.”
Rousseau believed in a society governed by democracy, which is why his values became so influential in America as well. Voltaire believed, even through the turmoil of the revolution, that a monarchy would be an ideal government for any society to implement.
Lars: Rousseau was right about monarchy, it didn’t work and was a primitive form of government. But Voltaire had found an even better substitute. In one of his most famous works, Candide, he shares his new ideal philosophy that “it is up to us to cultivate our garden.” This is obviously the better idea, after all, our humanities class is based on taking control of our own learning.
*pause*
Lars: And taking control of your own learning will naturally enable you to decide who is better: Rousseau, or Voltaire?
Kassandra: Both their philosophies were extremely influential during the French Revolution and continue to be influential in today’s world. But who, exactly, was the better man?
Lars: It’s up to you to decide...