Freedom of expression and the enlightenment

 Treatise on Tolerance
focused less on freedom of speech and more on 
toleration, particularly religious toleration, which is nevertheless linked to freedom of 
speech. This work was published in 1763 and called for religious tolerance while 
condemning religious fanaticism. Voltaire started this work with the story of Jean Calas. 
Calas was a Huguenot living in Toulouse in France. Protestantism, however, was 
officially illegal in France. Calas’ son hanged himself due to a series of unfortunate 
events outside of his father’s control. When the son was discovered, however, a rumor 
spread that claimed Calas had killed his son (with the help of a few others) because he 
was going to convert to Catholicism. The son was turned into a Catholic martyr, and the 
father was put to death by the state. Voltaire’s 
Treatise on Tolerance 
defended Calas, and 
eventually helped get the conviction overturned; however, Voltaire’s ultimate goal in this 
work was to condemn religious fanaticism. As this particular situation played out, he was 
83
Ibid, 51.

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34 
able to condemn the superstitions of the Catholics as well as the harsh punishment that 
was imposed notwithstanding the lack of evidence. If Calas actually had killed his son for 
converting to Catholicism, Voltaire would have condemned Protestant intolerance; in 
either case, his arguments would have been similar. According to Voltaire, “Toleration, 
in fine, never led to civil war; intolerance has covered the earth with carnage;” 
furthermore, he gave the example of Carolina, where “liberty gave rise to no disorder.”
84
Another argument Voltaire put forward in this work was the common claim that 
giving some freedoms prevents more extreme actions by the public. He said, “it seems to 
me an illogical piece of reasoning to say: ‘These men rebelled when I treated them ill, 
therefore they will rebel when I treat them well’”; he then invited high-ranking 
government officials “to reflect carefully whether one really has ground to fear that 
kindness will lead to the same revolts as cruelty.”
85
For Voltaire, common sense seemed 
to dictate that being tolerant of people with differing views would deter them from 
retaliating against the state in the future. Voltaire added, “do I propose, then, that every 
citizen shall be free to follow his own reason, and believe whatever this enlightened or 
deluded reason shall dictate to him? Certainly, provided he does not disturb the public 
order.”
86
The “enlightened or deluded” seems similar to the Quaker of Voltaire’s 
Letters
. 
One cannot know whether the person is enlightened or simply foolish, but the person 
must be allowed to speak. Furthermore, Voltaire believed that everyone should be 
allowed to follow his own reason, as long as he did not disturb the public order. If reason 
led someone to speak or write on some subject, that person should be allowed to do so 
84
Voltaire, 
Toleration and Other Essays
, trans. Joseph McCabe (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912), 25, 
http://lf-oll.s3.amazonaws.com/titles/349/0029_Bk.pdf
.  
85
Ibid, 19.
86
Ibid, 54.

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35 
without fear of censorship. Even though primarily a work on tolerance, this treatise also 
defended freedom of speech.
The work that was the culmination of all of Voltaire’s learning and writing was 
his 
Philosophical Dictionary
, published first in 1764 and revised in following years. He 
used this work to criticize various institutions, and he employed much of the irony and 
wit that he was known for. The idea for the