Philosophy Now Forum

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......................... “Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.” - Voltaire




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I supposed Voltaire never worked a boring factory job in his life. Oh, that's right, he spent a lot of time cheating his business partners and had to leave to avoid criminal prosecution. So, what makes Voltaire an expert on a sociological issue?

It seems that Voltaire could only avoid 1 evil at a time, it certainly wouldn't be boring, cheating your business partners.

I just don't get it about Voltaire. Has anyone actually looked up the facts regarding his life? Of all the people to quote from, why him? Especially a quote like this one, which is easily known to be false. Some people work hard at very boring jobs, this drives them to drink (vice), and does not provide them with sufficient income to provide for all their needs. It's almost like the fairy-tale regarding work hung over thee death camps --- work will make you free. Sure....

It's the quote he likes. He's not making a value judgement based on the man's personal shortcomings. If we did that for every quote then you wouldn't be able to quote pretty much anyone, which might not be a bad thing. Personally I think quoting anyone is quite silly. Think for yourselves.

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I chose that quote from Voltaire because I relate to it.


* ANY intellectual position can be intellectually disproved, denied, or decomposition-ed because of the vary nature of the intellect.

In short - ANY intellectualized position can be equally denied or defended by the vary mechanism of the intellect.



Is the original quote a generalization? - YES


Can the opposite of the original quote exist? - It's emphatically implied.


Can your personal experience be the exact opposite? - Absolutely.




**I spent most of my working life in manual labor. Specifically, construction.

EVERY day mentally, emotionally, & physically I pushed myself to the max. No regrets & I AM THANKFUL I had the work opportunities that I did. It made me something much more than my original self; my normal state of being.







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Bill Wiltrack wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:09 am .
I chose that quote from Voltaire because I relate to it.

Sometimes a quote puts into words what you are thinking but can't say it as well, that is when you use a quote rather than try to say it yourself.

Bill Wiltrack wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:03 pm
....... “Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.” - Voltaire

Mssr. Arouet may not have been referring to his own life, and he certainly has not expressed a universal sentiment. As for me, in 45 years of jobs combining physical labor with mental acumen, I always found the manual labor to be deeply rewarding. On the intellectual side, I needed to advance my education at intervals in order to fight boredom. I loved my work so much that instead of receiving a paycheck for my efforts I should’ve been charged admission to be there.