The notion of perfectibility of mankind

The eighteen century is known as the century of the enlightenment in Europe. The century is marked by philosophical rationalism and the exaltation of sciences, as well as the criticism of the social order and the religious hierarchy. Reason became the basic column of the society and triumphed over the church dogmas and the authority of the government. However, if one looked deep in the century he/she can see that darkness was the closest neighbor of the enlightenment. This whole idea of the perfectibility of mankind seemed unclear. When they were talking about perfectibility, the war of succession was ravaging Europe. In Addition, The seven’s years war was creating orphans in mass in Europe. This war was so cruel that Winston Churchill described it as the First World War. Moreover, the church stayed powerful in all Europe. It continued to condemn people to death without solid ground, and the protestant countries showed the same kind of intolerance. Add to all of that, black people were kidnapped from their family, country, culture, and brought to everywhere in America to make profit for Europe. An absurd triangle trade was put in place. Ship were filled with cheap goods and sailed toward Africa. Then, the cheap goods were exchanged for men and women who were brought in horrible conditions to the New World. I know the philosophers of the enlightenment were criticizing this kind of behaviors. However, they are the ones that profess also the doctrine of perfectibility of mankind. I will be the first one that will acknowledge that we really make progress in several fields since the eighteen century, but in the same token, I will say that men also become greedier. Since this idea of perfectibility, we cannot count how many people that are died because of foolish wars, selfishness, and cupidity of mankind. Take a moment and think about these questions, “Why we have wars?” Why we have those expensive weapons, and children around the world are going to bed every day with an empty stomach?

Yes, when I read Candide, I see Voltaire criticized the dark side of society. He describes a world that is governed by deception, and paints a Europe corrupt by cupidity. Montesquieu for his part describes in l’Esprit des Lois the result of this cupidity:

Les peuples d’Europe ayant exterminé ceux de l’Amérique, ils ont dû mettre en esclavage ceux de l’Afrique, pour s’en servir à défricher tant de terres.

And he adds, “Le sucre serait trop cher, si l’on ne faisait travailler la plante qui produit par des esclaves. However, I truly believe that men are not working toward perfection. Men do not hesitate to fly airplanes in buildings with the purpose of killing. Men do not hesitate to fly sophisticated airplane to drop bombs on innocent lives. Men are starving people to death claiming they do not have the money to feed them. However, they find money to build destructive weapons. Are we really going toward perfection?

The power of literary text

“Far from being divorced from the world, literary production is itself a form of social practice: texts do not merely reflect social reality but create it,” wrote Lee Paterson in his article, Literary History. Paterson’s statement strikes the inner part of my heart. It helps me realizing the power and influence a literary work can have on a society and culture. Truly, an individual can use such kind of writing to create a world within and around him. For example, Patrick Modiano, in his novel, Dora Bruder, tells a story of a young woman’s experience of the atrocities of the Nazis against the Jews. Bruder serves as a bridge that enables readers to travel in the past. Through the text, they are able to connect with the Jews, the French, the social structure, the Nazis, and so on. Without being there, readers become sympathetic with the young lady. As result, they are able to judge for themselves the condition of life of the Jews during the occupation of France by the Nazis. Through this literary work, Modiano creates an environment whereby the readers can interact with the actions of mankind. In addition, it engenders a backup memory for us, so we can never forget the past. A literary work can create a reality, and from it all can learn not to reproduce the mistakes of the past.