As a philosopher Voltaire is not by his own work particularly original. However, he must be included in any retrospective of Western thought for the huge influence his writings have had. Voltaire did more to popularise and instigate ‘the age of reason’ than any other philosopher. His style is always readable, provocative and laced with wit. Not until the plays and stories of the existentialists in the twentieth century would philosophy be again so popularly read.
