Universal Freemasonry and the Enlightenment
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Stephen J. Trachtenberg, 33 Pres ident, The George Was hington University Once we realize how the Enlightenment, Freemasonry, and the United States of America have become overlapping categories of human behavior, we also have to recognize the extent to which Enlightenment, as a system of values, is presently under siege. The word Enlightenment with a capital “E” had very special meaning in the 18th century when Freemasonry was making such an impact in Europe and America and when this Lodge was in the process of being founded.Q Open a textbook on the history of Europe in the 18th century, and one of the first references you’ll find is a reference to “The Enlightenment,” an intellectual movement based in France but extending its appeal as far away as Stockholm and Moscow. The Enlightenment represented a new attitude toward the human past, present, and future. It was an attitude consciously opposed to all the forces that locked the human mind into a narrow, prejudiced, and basically passive type of functioning. The phi losop hers of t he En ligh tenment , when t hey look ed b ack at human histo ry, tend ed t o see it a s a lo ng sequen ce of prisons, each of which tended to stand in the way of intellectual pursuits, social progress, and constructive change. Needless to say, th ese same ph iloso phers k new th at t here h ad al ways been except ion s to this rule. In the upp er ranks of Europ ean mo narchy and aristocracy , there had been ind ivid ual figures who somehow t ranscende d t he l imitat ion s of th eir ti me. The ti me of t he R enaissance in Italy produ ced some ob vio us exa mples. So d id the age of Elizabeth the First in England. And the 18th century produced its share of enlightened monarchs in Austria, Russia, and Sweden who looked beyond the rituals of their courts and their churches to broader visions of humanity and human progress. But the deeper impulses of the Enlightenment tended to be more democratic, to look further than such occasional exceptions allowed for. When we feel an inevitable temptati on to sur render some or a ll of our autonomy as individual citizens, let’ s remember that the ultimate craft is t he one whereby we craft ourselves. One crucial defining point of the Enlightenment was the great encyclopedia produced in France by Denis Diderot and his colleagues. Its articles and illustrations were concerned not just with famous names out of history but with the arts and crafts that made human life and human progress possible. It saw the entire human race as engaged in a common endeavor--the struggle toward sharing widely the benefits of human reason. Needless to say, a p hilo sophi cal mo vement that was incli ned to be ap preciati ve t oward pe ople of every social and econo mic le vel, t hat encou raged t oleranc e and openness rather than compulsion and limitation, was bound to stir up a lot of opposition in societies based on hereditary privilege. In France itself, the proponents of Enlightenment g ot used t o drastic shifts of personal fortune. When they weren’t being lio nized by their admirers , including admirer s drawn fr om the French aristocracy, they were being threatened with imprisonment or physical violence. And the more they were threatened in this way, the more influential they became. In every country and on nearly every continent, people became aware of an altogether new point of view which actually saw the earth as a planet whose processes we could understand and influence, rather than a divine mystery whose destructive aspects we could only accept. Looking back at t he 18th century from the perspective of the present moment, we can see how the force of Enlightenment and the force of Freemasonry wer e destined for a marriage. There is a haunting parallel between the imagery of craftsmanship in the Masonic vision and the new interest in human craft that was incorporated into Diderot’s Encyclopedia. What was slowly diminishing i n this n ew vision was the older con tempt for most human being s as the members of a so-called “lower order ” whose habits and thought patterns respectable members of society could only regard with contempt and distrust. Already implicit in the Enlightenment, for example, was a new attitude toward public health. In the 19th century, enlightened doctors spread out through the nations of Western Europe, starting with France, and tried to alleviate the subhuman living conditions of the rural peasantry. The notion that “we can do it” became a self-fulfilling proph ecy. Ideal s of san itati on and educat ion took the place of an earlier i ndi fference which, of cou rse, had t ranslated int o n onsto p p lagu es of v arious k ind s. Enlightenment and Free masonry ser ved each o ther well and reinforced each other’s strengths. They also exercised a great power over the poli tical experiment that was underway along th e Eastern Coast of North America. The kinds of Europeans who picked themselves up and moved across the Atlantic, who chose the rigors of Colo nial life over the predictable servitude of the places in which they were born, were sympathetic to the notion that human beings--all human beings--could generate the kinds of ideas that made the world a better place. It was no accident, therefore, that so many of the Founding Fathers of the United States were deeply influenced by the Enligh tenment and wer e also members of the Masonic Order. And it was no accident that they shared a deep distrust of any national religious system, especially the kind of national religion that operated hand-in- glove with a hereditary monarchy. Enlightenment would always be crushed, they believed, when the forces representing the authority of faith could back up their power with the armed force of an organized nation. In the most natu ral way, theref ore, Enlightenment became the deepest prevailing valu e of the United States of Amer ica. As all of us know, the phi losophy o f our Constitution is one th at seeks to create a “breathing space” for even the simplest, humblest, most average American. The wars wa ged between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial elements of our national system, the countervailing powers with which our states confront the federal government, the ways in which the Search Go!
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The importance of freemasonry to the enlightenment and of the enlightenment to freemasonry. The impact of "modern" philosophy on thinking, culture and politics.
Transcript of Universal Freemasonry and the Enlightenment
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6/15/2015 UniversalFreemasonryAndTheEnlightenment
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StephenJ.Trachtenberg,33President,TheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity
OncewerealizehowtheEnlightenment,Freemasonry,andtheUnitedStatesofAmericahavebecomeoverlappingcategoriesofhumanbehavior,wealsohavetorecognizetheextenttowhichEnlightenment,asasystemofvalues,ispresentlyundersiege.
ThewordEnlightenmentwithacapitalEhadveryspecialmeaninginthe18thcenturywhenFreemasonrywasmakingsuchanimpactinEuropeandAmericaandwhenthisLodgewasintheprocessofbeingfounded.Q
OpenatextbookonthehistoryofEuropeinthe18thcentury,andoneofthefirstreferencesyoullfindisareferencetoTheEnlightenment,anintellectualmovementbasedinFrancebutextendingitsappealasfarawayasStockholmandMoscow.TheEnlightenmentrepresentedanewattitudetowardthehumanpast,present,andfuture.Itwasanattitudeconsciouslyopposedtoalltheforcesthatlockedthehumanmindintoanarrow,prejudiced,andbasicallypassivetypeoffunctioning.ThephilosophersoftheEnlightenment,whentheylookedbackathumanhistory,tendedtoseeitasalongsequenceofprisons,eachofwhichtendedtostandinthewayofintellectualpursuits,socialprogress,andconstructivechange.
Needlesstosay,thesesamephilosophersknewthattherehadalwaysbeenexceptionstothisrule.IntheupperranksofEuropeanmonarchyandaristocracy,therehadbeenindividualfigureswhosomehowtranscendedthelimitationsoftheirtime.ThetimeoftheRenaissanceinItalyproducedsomeobviousexamples.SodidtheageofElizabeththeFirstinEngland.Andthe18thcenturyproduceditsshareofenlightenedmonarchsinAustria,Russia,andSwedenwholookedbeyondtheritualsoftheircourtsandtheirchurchestobroadervisionsofhumanityandhumanprogress.ButthedeeperimpulsesoftheEnlightenmenttendedtobemoredemocratic,tolookfurtherthansuchoccasionalexceptionsallowedfor.
Whenwefeelaninevitabletemptationtosurrendersomeorallofourautonomyasindividualcitizens,letsrememberthattheultimatecraftistheonewherebywecraftourselves.
OnecrucialdefiningpointoftheEnlightenmentwasthegreatencyclopediaproducedinFrancebyDenisDiderotandhiscolleagues.Itsarticlesandillustrationswereconcernednotjustwithfamousnamesoutofhistorybutwiththeartsandcraftsthatmadehumanlifeandhumanprogresspossible.Itsawtheentirehumanraceasengagedinacommonendeavorthestruggletowardsharingwidelythebenefitsofhumanreason.
Needlesstosay,aphilosophicalmovementthatwasinclinedtobeappreciativetowardpeopleofeverysocialandeconomiclevel,thatencouragedtoleranceandopennessratherthancompulsionandlimitation,wasboundtostirupalotofoppositioninsocietiesbasedonhereditaryprivilege.InFranceitself,theproponentsofEnlightenmentgotusedtodrasticshiftsofpersonalfortune.Whentheywerentbeinglionizedbytheiradmirers,includingadmirersdrawnfromtheFrencharistocracy,theywerebeingthreatenedwithimprisonmentorphysicalviolence.Andthemoretheywerethreatenedinthisway,themoreinfluentialtheybecame.
Ineverycountryandonnearlyeverycontinent,peoplebecameawareofanaltogethernewpointofviewwhichactuallysawtheearthasaplanetwhoseprocesseswecouldunderstandandinfluence,ratherthanadivinemysterywhosedestructiveaspectswecouldonlyaccept.
Lookingbackatthe18thcenturyfromtheperspectiveofthepresentmoment,wecanseehowtheforceofEnlightenmentandtheforceofFreemasonryweredestinedforamarriage.ThereisahauntingparallelbetweentheimageryofcraftsmanshipintheMasonicvisionandthenewinterestinhumancraftthatwasincorporatedintoDiderotsEncyclopedia.Whatwasslowlydiminishinginthisnewvisionwastheoldercontemptformosthumanbeingsasthemembersofasocalledlowerorderwhosehabitsandthoughtpatternsrespectablemembersofsocietycouldonlyregardwithcontemptanddistrust.
AlreadyimplicitintheEnlightenment,forexample,wasanewattitudetowardpublichealth.Inthe19thcentury,enlighteneddoctorsspreadoutthroughthenationsofWesternEurope,startingwithFrance,andtriedtoalleviatethesubhumanlivingconditionsoftheruralpeasantry.Thenotionthatwecandoitbecameaselffulfillingprophecy.Idealsofsanitationandeducationtooktheplaceofanearlierindifferencewhich,ofcourse,hadtranslatedintononstopplaguesofvariouskinds.
EnlightenmentandFreemasonryservedeachotherwellandreinforcedeachothersstrengths.TheyalsoexercisedagreatpoweroverthepoliticalexperimentthatwasunderwayalongtheEasternCoastofNorthAmerica.ThekindsofEuropeanswhopickedthemselvesupandmovedacrosstheAtlantic,whochosetherigorsofColoniallifeoverthepredictableservitudeoftheplacesinwhichtheywereborn,weresympathetictothenotionthathumanbeingsallhumanbeingscouldgeneratethekindsofideasthatmadetheworldabetterplace.
Itwasnoaccident,therefore,thatsomanyoftheFoundingFathersoftheUnitedStatesweredeeplyinfluencedbytheEnlightenmentandwerealsomembersoftheMasonicOrder.Anditwasnoaccidentthattheysharedadeepdistrustofanynationalreligioussystem,especiallythekindofnationalreligionthatoperatedhandinglovewithahereditarymonarchy.Enlightenmentwouldalwaysbecrushed,theybelieved,whentheforcesrepresentingtheauthorityoffaithcouldbackuptheirpowerwiththearmedforceofanorganizednation.
Inthemostnaturalway,therefore,EnlightenmentbecamethedeepestprevailingvalueoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Asallofusknow,thephilosophyofourConstitutionisonethatseekstocreateabreathingspaceforeventhesimplest,humblest,mostaverageAmerican.ThewarswagedbetweentheExecutive,Legislative,andJudicialelementsofournationalsystem,thecountervailingpowerswithwhichourstatesconfrontthefederalgovernment,thewaysinwhichthe
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residentsofasinglemunicipalitycanasserttheirneedsandconcernswhentheyfeelthesehavebeenignoredallthesechecksandbalanceshaveonemajorpurpose:topermittheindividualAmericancitizentoflowerintofullstrength,influence,andcreativity.
Wemayoftenargueaboutthedetailsofthisgrandsystemofbalanceandopportunity.Weveryseldomargueaboutthekindofhumanbeingthesystemisdesignedtofavor:anAmericanwhoknowshisorherrightsandwhois,therefore,aslittleinclinedtoworshipauthorityasanyphilosopherofthe18thcentury.
Intodaysworld,whensomanyforeignnationsareturningtotheAmericanmodelintheirownquestsforEnlightenment,itstemptingforustositback,topatourselvesontheback,andtobaskinthefactthatwegottherefirst.Butthatsatemptationwemustresist.OncewehaverealizedhowtheEnlightenment,Freemasonry,andtheUnitedStatesofAmericahavebecomeoverlappingcategoriesofhumanbehavior,wealsohavetorecognizetheextenttowhichEnlightenment,asasystemofvalues,ispresentlyundersiege.
Openthenewspaperandyouarelikelytofindyourselfreadingaboutthemostrecentactionsofthisorthatreligiouscult.Drivenalongbytheunquestionedauthorityoftheirleaders,cultmembershaveengagedinmurder,armedconfrontation,andsuicide.Theirvisionsoflifeareoftengroundedinaselectionofreligioustexts,especiallythosewhichenvisionaglobalcatastropheofsomekind.Meanwhile,theyignorethetextswhichsuggestthatweoughttobeworkingonadaytodaybasistomakelifeamoreorderlyprocesswhoseultimategoalisjustice.
Inshort,whatcultssooftendoistofavorpreciselythekindsofauthoritarianismandpassivitythatthe18thcenturyEnlightenmentsetouttooppose.Meanwhile,theytendtoignorethepoliticaltraditionembodiedbyAmericasFoundingFathersandFreemasonry:thesenseofpoliticsasahumanitariancraftwhichcouldactuallydesignanationinsuchawaythatitscitizensagreeitisfundamentallyjust.
Asweallknow,cultsofthiskindfeedonfeelingsofdespairanddisillusionment.ManyofthepeoplewhocommittedsuicideafterjoiningtheHeavensGatecultleftbehindlettersandvideotapesinwhichtheysaidthingslike:Theresjustnothinghereanylonger.Andbyheretheymeantnothinglessthanourentireplanet!Tocommitsuicideinordertobeginaninterplanetaryvoyageonapassingspaceshipwasawayofescapingfromaworldtheysawasaprison.Theyfeltthatitscontinents,oceans,skiesandsocietiesallofthemwereinthegripofanevilforce,usuallyidentifiedbysuchcultistsasSatanorLucifer.Onlybymovingtosomeotherworld,therefore,canhumanbeingsmakethemselvescomfortableandcreativeandtrulyhappy.
OneofthebuiltinproblemsfacedbythosewhoworkonbehalfofEnlightenmentisthattheyhaveoftenunderestimatedthepowerofwhattheythemselveshaveescaped.MostAmericantouristsvisitingotherpartsoftheworldwouldfinditintolerabletoliveintheagesthatproducedhugechurches,castles,andotherkindsofauthoritarianinstitutions.Werewecarriedbackintimetooneofthoseages,fiveminutesoflookingaroundwouldhaveusbeggingforareturnto1997.Butifwecantravelbackinamuchsaferway,thewayprovidedbymoderntravelandthehumanimagination,thenwecantwaittoexperiencethepast,evenifthemonumentswevisitwereoncethesitesofhumansacrifice,religiouspersecution,andamurderousreactiontoanyformofdisagreement.
ItwasnoaccidentthatsomanyoftheFoundingFathersoftheUnitedStatesweredeeplyinfluencedbytheEnlightenmentandalsomembersoftheMasonicOrder.
Enlightenmenttellsusthattoengageintheactofdisagreementisoneofthemostbasicaspectsofbeinghuman.Imayfindwhatyousayorwhatyouthinkis100percentwrong.Imayevenregardyourideasdangeroustothesocietywithinwhichwealllive.Butintheverythroesofsuchdisagreement,IstillresistanytemptationImayfeeltoburnyouatthestakeorotherwiseremoveyoufrommysight.Icanactuallyrecognizethesupremeimportanceofallowingyoutogetonmynerves!Inshort,whatEnlightenment,Freemasonry,andtheUnitedStatesofAmericaallhaveincommonisasingularlycomplexpictureofthehumanmind.ThosewhojoinaMasonicLodgemayincludepeoplewhohavenot,formanyyears,usedanytoolmoresophisticatedthanacanopener.ThosewhobecomecitizensoftheUnitedStatesprobablyincludepeoplewhobelievethatourplanetisflatasapancakeandsitsonthebackofacosmicturtle.Thosewhotookpartinthe18thcenturyEnlightenmentincludedpeoplewhoserigidatheismandsheerhatredofreligionresembledtheangersoftheverysystemstheyweretryingtooverthrow.
Butwhatwealltendtofeel,despiteourdifferences,isthatwearebetterservedbythefreedomforalltoexpresstheiropinionsthanwewouldbebyamuchneaterandinsomewaysmoreaestheticallypleasingsystem.BackinthedayswhennoreligiousprocessionwasindangerofhavingpeoplewavepicketsignsatitandwhensicknessanddeathweremostoftenregardedasactsofGod,apparentunanimitywasachievedbytheobliterationofinconvenientformsofdisagreement.Everybodyseemedtothinkalike.Theresultwasthekindofharmonyadmiredbythedictatorsofthe20thcenturywhosawtoitthateverybodyhadtherighttoagreewiththem.
Clearly,thevaluesoftheEnlightenmentwhichhavedonemuchtoproduceusmayonceagainbefacingacrisis.Thosevaluesseektoprovideeveryhumanbeingwithalargemeasureofautonomy.Butautonomy,besidesbeingawonderfulthingtohave,isalsoveryoftenachallenge.Allofusexperience,intheprocessofgrowingup,thedifficultprocessofgainingindependencefromourparents.Werenolongerbeingtoldwhattodo.Wehaveactuallytodecidewhattodo.Andonthoseoccasionswhenwhatwedecidetodoturnsouttobeamistakeoranoutrightdisaster,canwereallybeblamedforlookingback,nostalgically,tothetimewhenlifewassomuchsimpler?
OncetheEnlightenmentshifteddisagreementfrombeingakindofsintobeingakindofduty,ourspeciesbegantoexperiencetheapexofitsinfluence.Ancientsicknessescouldbecured.Ourmooncouldbevisited.Theearthitselfcouldbeexploredwithathoroughnessthatpreviousgenerationswouldhaveregardedassciencefiction.Thebiologyofhereditycouldbemapped.Andthemostsubversivepolitical,social,orintellectualideascouldbeproposed.NosoonerhadthethoughtofaSigmundFreudoverthrownsomanytaboosandsacredcowsthatthepreFreudianworldwasnolongertrulyimaginablethantheattackonFreudhimselfgotunderwayandwassoonsuggestingthathewasinfactafraud.NosoonerhadwegottenthroughlamentingtheinfluenceofMarxistthinkingontheThirdWorldthantheThirdWorldstartedtopackitsMarxismintotheneighborhoodtrashcan.
Suchisthenatureofthehumanmind.AndwhatEnlightenmenthasrepresented,aboveall,isthegrowthanddevelopmentofthehumanmind.Wehaveacceptedthekeendiscomfortinvolvedinquestioningoldassumptions.Andwehavedecidedthatacertainamountofpermanentdiscomfortisbetterthantheharmonyachievedbymurderingonesopponents.
SoifthedislikeofbeinguncomfortableandthepainofbeingautonomousareforcescurrentlynibblingawayatEnlightenment,wecanreassureourselvesbylookingbackatthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury.Atthattime,manypeoplefeltthatEnlightenmentwouldproveahistoricalloser.Fascismwasaleadingcandidateforthestatusofwinner.Wasntitobvious,manyasked,thataquarreling,squabbling,systematicallydisuniteddemocracycouldnevercompetewitharigidlyorganizedtyrannywhereeverybodymarchedtogether?Theywereprovedwrong.Whenitcametothemostcolossalwareverfought,theproponentsofbrutalunanimitylostouttothesquabblingproponentsofdemocracywhowerewillingtolistentojustaboutanyideawithoutrejectingitoutofhand.
Soletsnotconfuseanitchwithadisease.WhatEnlightenment,Freemasonry,andAmericanhistoryallteachusisthatthinkinganewthoughtisntoftenaveryeasythingtodo.Andwhenwefeelaninevitabletemptationtosurrendersomeorallofourautonomyasindividualcitizens,letsrememberthattheultimatecraftistheonewherebywecraftourselves.Nomorethrillingmomentcanbeimaginedthantheonethathasourchildrenorgrandchildrenlookingbackatusandsaying,Theychosethehardway.Anditturnedouttobetherightway!
Thearticleaboveisanaddress,editedforlength,givenbyIllustriousTrachtenbergattheStatedCommunicationofPotomacLodgeNo.5,Washington,DC,onMay5,1997,aspartofacelebrationoftheLodges208thanniversary.
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