The culture of entitlement in the Age of Enlightenment: Voltaire, a personification of narcissism in the French movement

The objective of the thesis is to demonstrate that by addressing cognitive, affective and motivational factors, psychology can lead to a greater understanding of the interrelationship between the individual and culture. Specifically, a model of narcissism has been used to locate historical sources of current mass-market culture of entitlement in the Age of Enlightenment.;A comparison between England and France, the two significant sources of Enlightenment ideology and achievement, suggest that the former produced all the necessary ingredients to represent the period. But history has chosen the French philosophes to personify the spirit of the Enlightenment.;Described, by admirers, as "the least self-analytical of man", Voltaire emerges as the clearest personification of narcissistic features in the French movement. Reviewing his personal history and publications through the model of narcissism, reveal him as an individual who fought savagely against obstacles to personal fulfillment, disguised vengeance as affront against humanity and masked self-centered insecurity with protean adaptability. This personal-cultural narcissism is best illustrated in his philosophical story Candide. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...