Candide: Voltaire's parody of Leibniz (pre read)

Candide, amazed, terrified, confounded, astonished, and trembling from head to foot, said to himself, “If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others? If I had only been whipped, I could have put up with it, as I did among the Bulgarians; but, O my dear Pangloss! thou greatest of philosophers! that ever I should live to see thee hanged, without knowing for what! O my dear Anabaptist, thou best of men, that it should be thy fate to be drowned in the very harbour! O Miss Cunegund, you mirror of young ladies! that it should be your fate to have your belly ripped open.”

Participants who haven't done the reading are most welcome, but they will benefit a lot more by reading in advance. Pay particular attention to chapters IV, V, VI and XXX. The book is here. The original can be consulted here. Here is also a recent (2020) article on Voltaire's legacy by Nabila Radmani.

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This group examines the history of Ideas and Science. Great effort is made to include lesser known thinkers whose thought has historical significance. We will also examine non-European Philosophy and Science to provide context and comparison.

The organizer is not an expert but has a long experience in organizing similar meetings. He also has an Oxford PhD in European History as well as a Cambridge MPhil on the same discipline. He currently teaches foreign languages.
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Our meeting time is: Thursday 2 pm(Los Angeles)/5 pm (New York)/10 pm (London).