(GPC, 2019)
In Voltaire’s Candide, the scathing critique of abstract, world-alienated, self-alienating, sanctimonious theoretical philosophy in general, and of professional academic philosophy in particular—specifically exemplified by 18th century Leibnizian/Wolffian rationalism and theodicy, or “theo-idiocy,” satirically represented by that iconic moralistic idiot of professional academic philosophy, Dr Pangloss—equally evocatively and provocatively concludes with the phrase “il faut cultiver notre jardin,” i.e., we must cultivate our garden. What does Voltaire’s world-famous phrase mean? It is often interpreted as an expression of having an eye to the main chance, that is, a justification for selfish greed; and occasionally as a late-Wittgenstein-style philosophical recommendation to horticultural quietism. In his essay, “Il Faut Cultiver Notre Jardin: How and Why We Must Cultivate Our Garden,” Robert Hanna argues that on the contrary, “il faut cultiver notre jardin” is in fact Voltaire’s radically enlightened 18th century philosophical recommendation to revolutionize philosophy, and transform it from abstract, world-alienated, self-alienating, sanctimonious theorizing into a concrete, world-encountering, self-realizing, emancipatory, rational humanistic enterprise: in a nutshell, Voltaire is describing the radically enlightened philosopher asa rational rebel for humanity.
You can find an accessible but also fully detailed podcast on Hanna’s “Il Faut Cultiver Notre Jardin: How and Why We Must Cultivate Our Garden,” created by Scott Heftler and other friends of Philosophy Without Borders, HERE.
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