Banca de DEFESA: PEDRO MIGUEL SOUSA SANTOS

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : PEDRO MIGUEL SOUSA SANTOS
DATE: 06/11/2025
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: FFCH/Virtual
TITLE:

BETWEEN GOD AND REASON: MORALITY AS NATURAL RELIGION IN VOLTAIRE

KEY WORDS:

Voltaire; Natural Religion; Morality; Enlightenment.

PAGES: 187
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Filosofia
SUBÁREA: História da Filosofia
SUMMARY:

This doctoral thesis analyzes the concept of natural religion in Voltaire’s philosophical thought, with particular attention to its role as the rational foundation of morality. Within the context of the Enlightenment, Voltaire shifts the foundations of traditional religion based on revelation, dogma, and divine providence to a rational morality grounded in human nature and in the universal principles of reason, justice, and benevolence. By rejecting both supernatural revelation and the existence of innate ideas, Voltaire proposes a religion purified of dogmatic elements, understood as a moral system common to humankind. The investigation begins with Voltaire’s critique of traditional theology, moves through his reflections on the problem of evil, and emphasizes the value of science as a means of accessing nature and the order of the world. Finally, it argues that, for Voltaire, natural religion constitutes a philosophical alternative to theology, in which morality assumes a central normative and guiding role in social life. Drawing on modern science, particularly Newtonian physics, Voltaire adopts a conception of nature based on rational and stable laws, which makes it possible to uphold the idea of a morality independent of Revelation. Based on an understanding of human nature as endowed with reason and sociability, Voltaire proposes a universal morality accessible to all people. Thus emerges a form of practical theism in which God, though not intervening in the world, serves as a rational principle of order and social cohesion. Natural religion, therefore, turns not toward dogma but toward the moral and political utility of belief in God. It is concluded that, in Voltaire, religion is not abolished but redefined as a rational support for morality and the common good.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - ***.028.545-** - GENILDO FERREIRA DA SILVA - UFBA
Externa à Instituição - MARIA DAS GRAÇAS DE SOUZA - USP
Externo à Instituição - ANTONIO CARLOS DOS SANTOS - UFS
Externo à Instituição - RODRIGO BRANDÃO - UFPR
Externo à Instituição - LUIZ FELIPE NETTO DE ANDRADE E SILVA SAHD
Externo à Instituição - VLADIMIR DE OLIVA MOTA - UFS