The Rationalists and Deism

• Rationalists - Believe that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason rather than relying on the authority of the past, a religious faith or intuition

• God to the Rationalists - Sir Isaac Newton compares God to a giant clockmaker

• Having created the perfect mechanism of this universe God then left his creation to run on its own

• Deism: God is understood through reason. Universe is orderly and good

Spirit of the Individual• Individual human being is good and

capable of perfection. • The spirit of the revolution developed

in this understanding of the individual.

• Best form of spiritual worship is service and civic mindedness.

Francis Bacon 1561-1626• Scientific Method, return to classical,away from superstition of Middle Ages• Worked as a philosopher, statesmen, scientist, lawyer, jurist and author• Sadly, famously, died of pneumonia while

conducting experiments on the effects of freezing meat.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)• French Mathematician• “cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am)• Influenced rationalism a lot, and modern science• Advocated knowledge that is precise and verifiable

John Locke 1632-1704• Wrote new philosophies about mankind• No innate thoughts/ideas – clean slate• Sensory experience• “pursuit of happiness”• Original “Liberal” thinker and a Humanist• “consciousness”• Contract theory – between say a government and a

people

Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679• He wrote about the notion of social contract theory, which basically states thatcitizens give up their sovereignty, or power of state, to another power, government, to have law• Published Leviathan in 1651 – established modern

Western political theory• Like Locke, wrote about liberal theory: the right of

the individual, equality for all men, differences between civil society and state, legitimate political power comes from representation and the will of the people, let people do whatever the law doesn’t prohibit

Isaac Newton 1643-1727 • Gravity• Was a physicist, mathematician (calculus), astronomer, philosopher and theologian• Biggest prodigy until Einstein• Asserted that rational, scientific and explainable

laws govern the heavens• Was Thomas Jefferson’s greatest influence

Charles-Louis Montesquieu• 1689-1755• French Philosopher• Separation of powers in governmental, state and federal law, • different kinds of government• Argued that important, radical historical events are

driven by the movements of the time, above and over individual human beings

Benjamin Franklin The First Self Help Book - Franklin was the most famous American of his Time

• He thought of himself mainly as a scientific person

• He was very civic minded – he organized the first libraries, fire stations and postal department in Philly

• He could never be temperate – he loved food and liquor and partying• His Autobiography was originally addressed

to his son but his son supported the King during the Revolution so Franklin disinherited him.

• He came to Philadelphia (A Quaker Settlement) from Boston (A Puritan Haven)

• He didn’t agree with the Quakers but he admired their tolerance

• He describes a lot of encounters with people where he messes up or people take advantage of him – they’re lessons, “see what we learned today,” have to make mistakes so we can learn from them

Franklin was well read and versed in numerous languages

Different Pictures at Different Ages

Quaker Pictures

• Great sense of progress and success in his writing

• Puritan Influence: Structured life and work ethic

• Franklin always kept his self interests first – He always made sure he got things the way he wanted it. Most successful people are ruthless in a way.

• Involvement in Revolution - His involvement in the Revolution came rather late

• He’d been attempting to unite the colonies as a union under British jurisdiction

• Franklin actually appointed one of the stamp collectors which the colonists didn’t like

• He told the British the colonists would not accept taxation without representation – alluded to the coming conflict

• He was in France during the war, got France involved

• Pride is always there in Franklin – it’s something he could do away with.

• The idea that a person can become morally superior or at least better than they were

• Humility is not applicable when people write autobiographies cause they’re promoting a certain agenda

• Because he arrives so poor Franklin implies that he has become clean, well-dressed, rich and prosperous

• Education is the means to break the boundaries of poverty

• This is the older Franklin looking back on his journey

• He’s also a businessman trying to “sell” his writing

• A Deist – Control Emotion and Nature with Reason and Rational

• God is God of Method. Notice how Franklin uses the word Method several times.

• The way to discover the mystery of God is through observation, reason, intellect and science

Thomas Jefferson

                                                         

• How do we reconcile his words with the institution of slavery?

• He fought for states rights and the rights of the individual – despised a strong central government

• He was a Renaissance Man – an accomplished statesman, architect, botanist, paleontologist, linguist, musician, writer and philosopher

• An open rejection of British Rule• Although Jefferson owned slaves he shows on page 97

the possibility of getting rid of it – there WOULD NOT have been a country if he had tried to ban slavery immediately

• 2 States wished to continue the slave trade• He left the words open to interpretation for future

generations

• People’s responsibility to destroy a repressive government and set up a new one. Must be a serious situation though, not something trite and immaterial

• Jefferson lists all of the iniquities of the King of England – the main one being the presence of British troops in the colonies

• Other iniquities – people’s personal lives are invaded, none of the colonists can serve in Parliament and yet they are being taxed, many people cannot get citizenship and many are forced to serve in the military

• There is a militaristic presence in the colonies – the king is in fact waging a war against them.

• The Colonists do not have the same rights as those citizens in England either

• The Declaration centers around freedom, the freedom of the individual. This country began as an experiment in freedom

• Authority comes from the individual, under the protection of divine providence – God, the God of the Rationalists, is included here

• Last 2 paragraphs are very famous too – this is an act of Treason, punishable by death. They can lose everything. An example of parallelism – all the actions they take and the things they pledge

• Jefferson does condemn King George for continuing the slave trade and for inciting the slaves to riot.

• Jefferson denounces slavery as a violation of the basic right of liberty but he is not addressing the concept of political equality or equal rights under the law.

• Thomas Jefferson lives on in myth and legend and history

Mount Rushmore – Thomas Jefferson overlooking his Louisiana

Purchase