Which French philosopher wrote the satirical novel 'Candide'?

Voltaire wrote the satirical French novel Candide, first published in 1759.

The book’s full title, Candide, ou l’Optimisme, follows a sheltered young man who is taught by Professor Pangloss that everything happens for the best in “the best of all possible worlds.” Candide’s education collapses as he travels through war, disaster, persecution, exploitation, and personal loss. The fast-moving adventure plot lets Voltaire test optimistic philosophy against the suffering of actual human life.

The satire was partly shaped by contemporary events, especially the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and the Seven Years’ War. Voltaire also attacked religious intolerance, clerical power, military violence, censorship, and philosophical complacency. The work’s fictional setting of El Dorado provides a contrast with European societies, although Candide ultimately leaves it while pursuing an imperfect worldly hope.

Candide is often called a novel, but it is more precisely a short philosophical tale or novella that also uses picaresque and bildungsroman elements. Another common mix-up is assuming that Voltaire simply rejects every form of optimism. His closing advice to “cultivate our garden” is better understood as a practical call to responsible work rather than a complete philosophical system.