ABSTRACT:
The Letter to Voltaire represents, among other things, Rousseau’s answer to Voltaire’s criticism of the Second Discourse. If the latter, for Voltaire, could be considered a work against humankind, Voltaire’s Poem on the Lisbon Disaster is, for Rousseau, a pamphlet against providence. In this sense, the Letter to Voltaire allowed Rousseau to affirm his faith in providence and in optimism, fundamental aspects of hope. Hope, for Rousseau, is linked to sentiment and reason. Founded on providence and optimism, hope calms our heart in life’s adversities, informing us than all is well for the whole. Hope is related to existence, to one’s particular existence here and now; it helps one to survive each day. Thus Rousseau complains that Voltaire has transformed hope into a fraud. Briefly, in Rousseau’s thought, hope is linked to the present and to the future, to reason and to feelings, and to the pursuit of happiness itself.
KEYWORDS:
Rousseau; Voltaire; Hope; Providence; Optimism