How is Voltaire related to existentialism?

Answer 1

Voltaire believed in the necessity of evil in the world to show the good. The character Zadig is a perfect example of existentialism. He goes through so many ups and downs in order to learn lessons. The hermit that Zadig runs into in Ch. 20 tells him that "There is no evil out of which some good is not born." He might say "everything happens for a reason."

Answer 2

Voltaire is not directly related to existentialism. He was a prominent French Enlightenment philosopher and writer known for his advocacy of freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and reason. Existentialism, a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual choice, freedom, and personal responsibility, emerged later in the 19th and 20th centuries with thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.