Is Franklin a Puritan or Enlightenment Thinker
About Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin came from a very simple Calvinist background. Ha dad little formal education, but he made it through his own efforts and became a rare genius in human history. Everything seems to meet in this one man, mind and will, talent and art, strength and ease, wit and grace and he became almost everything: a printer, essayist, scientist, statesman, philosopher, political economist, ambassador, etc.-¡°Jack of all trades¡±.
Enlightenment in America
Toward the latter part of the 17th century, a complete new view of the universe came into being. With the publication of Newton¡¯s ¡°Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica¡± in which his laws of motion and the idea of universal gravitation were embodied, the universal became something mechanical, like a clock instead of to the close supervision of God, to certain physical and mechanical laws. This gave rise to a predominant idea and philosophy-enlightenment. This set of idea and philosophy carried itself the characteristic of deism, belief in human reason and pursuit of happiness.
1. Deism
The deist thought God is indeed the creator of the universe, ¡°the maker of the clock¡± but he has left it t operate according to natural law. Thus the best way to worship God is to study his handiwork, namely, the natural world and the human world, and to do good things to mankind. Voltaire and Rousseau in France and Alexander Pope and Daniel Defoe in England were all great voice of the new concept of the universe which was radically different from the domineering Christian position of original sin and predestination.
2. Bel...
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...enlightenment thinker. He carried with himself both the puritan ideas and the enlightenment ideas. He was brought up in the puritan background and was influenced by Puritanism from his early age, but he became a leader of the enlightenment thoughts and helped bring America into an enlightenment age. Although he placed particularly emphasis on the puritan values of frugality, temperance and industry, the means and ends of these virtues, of course, were quite un-puritan. Likewise, not holiness but human happiness-defined primarily as a condition of independence, self-control, and the power to promote the public welfare-appears as a perfectly sufficient goal. We can say that Benjamin Franklin is an enlightenment thinker with puritan characteristic.
references
Sun Youzhong, American Intellectual History, Beijing Foreign Studies UNiversity
Franklin, Autobiography
Gordon S. Wood delves into Benjamin Franklin’s philosophical, political, and personal legacies in the biography, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. The book travels through Franklin’s experiments, his travels in Europe, and his role in the American revolution. The book begins when Franklin retires from business and becomes a gentleman. It was when he became a gentleman, it allowed him to analyze the world around him. “Indeed, he could not drink a cup of tea without wondering why the tea leaves at the bottom gathered in way rather than another,” a quote from Edmund S. Morgan’s book, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin spent a great deal of time in Britain before returning to America. When he returned, he threw himself into the American revolution, which sent him to France. After he accomplished his duties in France, he returned back home to America where he ran for public office.
Starting in his younger years, Edwards struggled with accepting the Calvinist sovereignty of God. Various circumstances throughout Edward’s own personal life led to him later believing in the sovereignty of God. Jonathan Edwards is known greatly as a key figure in what has come to be called the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s. Fleeing from his grandfather’s original perspective by not continuing his practice of open communion, there was a struggle to maintain that relationship. Edward’s believed that physical objects are only collections of sensible ideas, which gives good reasoning for his strong religious belief system.
One of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers was John Locke, an English philosopher and physician. His work and ideas had a incomputable impact on modern day society. He was known as “Father of Liberalism” due to his opinions of freedoms and liberty. According to Locke, the people were entitled to have control over themselves as long as it adheres to the law. The Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Voltaire went to prison twice and spent multiple years in exile.
Franklin was remembered for stating "the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men." Franklin 's ideas that contributed to the Enlightenment is found in his Autobiography. His idea of a perfect person has 13 virtues and claims that a practical and scientific man is based on combining their values and economic values. Franklin preferred voluntarily societies over government control, all his thoughts can lead back to free opinion. In his, Almanac is reflected on his scientific interests and was popular within the
Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson want people to realize and develop potential within them. Even though both Franklin and Emerson advocate the notion of self-realization, they come up with different ideas about success, and have various attitudes toward people who are not successful in their perspectives.
It’s common for people who are successful in life to look down on other’s who haven’t ‘made something of themselves’ in their eyes, but it is also common for these successful people to come from privilege. It isn’t often they they will factor in this privilege when setting themselves up as a model, and this can be said for even Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of our country. While some people read Benjamin Franklin autobiography and put him in the place of the ‘perfect American self-made man’, it can be argued that Benjamin Franklin only accomplished everything he did because he started out with privilege that most people could only dream of in the time. When Benjamin Franklin makes a switch from
For many centuries, God has been changing; His interpretations are what that has changed the most about him. The God of the 1st century is nothing compared to the God that billions of people worship today. Seeing that God has undergone so many different types of transformations, I would be correct to say that many diverse understandings about His role and His teachings have come about. For example, there are several, unique types of Bibles addressing what God has said, but honestly, He only said what He spoke in one way. The various beliefs about God have led Christians to gain different perceptions about their God, which caused them to worship and appreciate Him in drastically different ways. This can be seen particularly in the way Deists, such as Benjamin Franklin, recognize God and His Word in opposition to that of the Puritans.
Benjamin Franklin is considered to be the most well-known Founding Father, as he helped in writing the Declaration of Independence and the very first Constitution of the United States. Who was he other than a man who fought for colonist’s rights however? He was a brilliant inventor who created many innovating and life changing mechanisms such as the world’s very first almanac, bifocals, and the lightning rod. Although he was never elected the role of President of the United States, he played several other parts, such as the first postmaster general for the colonies in addition to being an ambassador to France. As a young man working for his father’s candle shop, Benjamin Franklin soon made his way up to be one of history’s greatest figures.
Culture is defined as the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time. What is American culture? Is it a grab bag of different cultures or something completely different? People within the American society have different ways of defining American culture. John Adams was the son of a farmer, who would become the second President of the United States. His wife, Abigail Adams was the daughter of a wealthy Congregational minister. In 1774, he was elected a delegate in the First Continental Congress and thus begun his journey away from his family. During his time away from his family, he wrote letters, to his wife about various matters. These letters from husband to wife and vice versa reveal characteristics of the
"Of two things you can be certain; death and taxes," quoted Benjamin Franklin. Having a humorous outlook on life, Franklin tried to make others' lives better. Benjamin was a man who served others and tried to make the world its best until his death. Benjamin Franklin had many accomplishments. He had a busy and eventful life, he played a major role in defending his country, and he was known for his quotes. Franklin was always working to make something better.
Benjamin Franklin was a very prominent figure in shaping our nation. Many people look at him as a role model or just as an amazing individual. He had his faults just like every human being had, and he shouldn’t be discredited because of a few minor glitches to his character. As being the only person that had signed The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris, this immediately separates him from all others. One of the things that he wrote about in Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings, was trying to be the ideal person, and even made a list of virtues to live by. His virtues were very important to his lifestyle, and he followed them to a great extent.
...n, the advancement of these three philosophies from the theological Puritan views to the great scientific and reason ideals of the Enlightenment showed how a reform of beliefs and ideas resulted in the progressively modern ethics that our government is based on today. Scientific reasoning of the world ignited ideas that the ignorant society of the Puritans was immensely closed-minded about which gave way to how we explain how things happen through the use of science and reasoning. Though Puritans saw that this great reform was a blasphemy against God, the Enlightenment expanded different beliefs of religion which furthered societies intellect and understanding of religion. The social awakening of the arts help pave the way for entertainment we have today, and if not for this great “awakening” of knowledge our society would be far less advanced than we are today.
The Enlightenment characterizes a philosophical movement of the 18th century that emphasized the use of reason to analyze and scrutinize all previously accepted traditions and doctrines. Through this application of scientific method to all aspects of life, the role of science gradually replaced the role of religion. Sir Isaac Newton, quite possibly one of the most intelligent men to exist, played a key role in the development of the enlightenment. He supplied the foundations on which all sciences since him have been built. Without science and reason the enlightenment would have been unthinkable. In fact, historians quote the publishment of Newton's masterpiece Principia in 1687 as the most logical and fitting catalyst to the enlightenment. The scientific advances made by Sir Isaac Newton contributed immensely to the movement of the enlightenment; however, his primary purposes for discovery were not for scientific advancement rather all for the glorification of God, thus Newton's incredible religiousness will be seen in this paper.
Benjamin Franklin holds a massive role in the United States’ history. Franklin was involved in various fields, from inventions to politics. However, Franklin also played a key role in the creation of modern day American literature. Without this exceedingly influential character, the colonies might have remained under British control, and as a result, not have their own literature; furthermore, his literary works led to a shift in almanacs altogether.
Benjamin Franklin was a scholar and lexicographer, a representative of the American Enlightenment, ideologist of the national liberation movement. It should be noted that Franklin was one of the most active participants of the struggle of American people for independence. He condemned slavery and ardently defended the rights of American national minorities.