How did Voltaire help spread John Locke’s philosophy in France?

Voltaire played a pivotal role in disseminating the philosophy of John Locke in France, primarily by presenting England as a model of intellectual and religious freedom to his compatriots.1

Following his exile in England, Voltaire published his Lettres philosophiques (1734), a landmark work that contrasted Locke’s Empiricist psychology with the speculative theories of René Descartes. Voltaire championed Locke’s "historical plain method," admiring how Locke treated philosophy as a critical inquiry based on observation and experience rather than "a romance of the soul".12

By presenting Locke as the advocate of rational faith and sensationalist psychology, Voltaire helped ensure the philosopher's posthumous success in France. He utilized Locke’s ideas to argue for religious toleration, suggesting that because beliefs are largely products of one's environment, moral improvement should be a societal responsibility. Through these writings, Voltaire effectively introduced the French public to Locke’s empirical temperament, which became a foundational element of the Enlightenment.23