Purpose: To Serve Man

According to Pangloss, Candide's tutor, everything has a purpose: "He proved incontestably that there is no effect without a cause ... 'It is proved', he used to say, 'that things can not be other than what they are for since everything was made for a purpose , it follows that everything is made for the best purpose" (p.20). What follows are some absurd examples of why everything has a purpose. All the examples he gives serve men in some way:

"legs are clearly intended for breeches, so we wear them. Stones were made for carving and building houses, and that is why my lord has the most beautiful house ... And since pigs were made to be eaten, we eat pork all year round" (p.20).

I've come up with a conclusion: Humans are always trying to prove they are the better than other living things. Let's face it. We're proud of being the "dominant" species. We're proud we can talk, uses tools, feel, have a soul. We actually use all these traits to convince ourselves that we're better. Animals haven't evolved as we have. They aren't civilized, they haven't built empires, ruled countries, advanced in technology, therefore, we're superior.

This cocky feeling we have, leads us to believe everything was made to serve us. If everything was made for us, then I guess we can't feel guilty for ruining everything. After all, it's all ours isn't it?