Micromégas
Micromégas is a philosophical tale by Voltaire published in 1752 , which in retrospect is considered one of the first works of the genre science fiction .
The story describes the visit of a being from the star Sirius named Micromégas and his companion, the secretary of the academy of the planet Saturn , to the earth. It develops the philosophical idea of relativity and contains a critique of religion's claim to knowledge.
content
1st chapter
Micromégas, an inhabitant of a planet orbiting the star Sirius, is 24 miles tall and is very intelligent. When he was writing a book about insects, he was banned from his country's Muphti, who considered his work to be heretical and offensive. Then he begins a journey through space. He made new friends on Saturn, including the secretary of the Academy of Saturn.
2nd chapter
The secretary has a discussion with Micromégas about what nature is like. Micromégas is convinced that nature is what it is. Your conversation then turns to the meaning and properties of matter . They finally decide to go on a philosophical journey together.
3rd chapter
The Saturian leaves his beloved. The two travelers first visit Jupiter , which they study together. Then they pass Mars , but don't spend the night there because they fear that they won't be able to find a place there. Ultimately, they land on earth.
4th chapter
Micromégas and the Saturian investigate the earth, but cannot find any living things due to its enormous size. After the Saturian's diamond chain broke, the two researchers used the diamond as a microscope and recognized a whale in the sea. Hence, they realize that living things of such small dimensions can also exist. In the end, they discover a ship.
5th chapter
Micromégas puts the ship on his fingernail and realizes that it is no ordinary living being. The Siriusian then sees people for the first time and immediately believes that he has now caught nature at its source.
6th chapter
The Siriusian begins to communicate with people who, contrary to the expectations of the Secretary of Saturn, are able to determine his height. Micromégas comes to the conclusion that one cannot infer intelligence based on body size.
7th chapter
Micromégas holds a monologue in which he expresses his lack of understanding of human wars. Then he asks them various math questions that people can answer without any problems. But then he asks what the soul actually is. At this point people quote the famous philosophers Aristotle , Descartes , Malebranche , Leibniz and finally Locke . The Siriusian smiles at Locke's reply. It consists in worshiping eternal power, not claiming anything, but being content with the belief that more things exist than we think. In the end, Micromégas promises people to write a philosophy book for them. This is opened in the Academy of Sciences and the secretary there finds a completely white book.
literature
- Jeanne Charpentier, Carmen Tercero: Micromégas. Zadig. Series of Balises œuvres, Fernand Nathan, Paris 1995 a. ö. ISBN 2-09-180777-X .
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