MOVING FROM PURITANISM TO RATIONALISM finally Recap of

MOVING FROM PURITANISM TO RATIONALISM …finally.

Recap of the Puritans • The Puritan Legacy • Incredible work ethic/self-reliance • A belief that our purpose in America is sanctioned by God (city on the hill) • The need for moral justification for private, public, and governmental acts • A sense that we are morally superior—especially if we have had material success on earth • The Questing for Freedom – personal, political, economic, and social

Transitioning to a new age • If Puritanism is the Age of Faith, Rationalism is the Age of Reason

According to Rationalists • The best way to be good is • To use your logic and reason to improve your own and others’ lives • Focus on the PRESENT • How are these two qualities different from Puritans’ belief of how to be good?

Thinkers and Tinkers • New ideas are rising in Europe and were challenging the faith of the Puritans • The Age of Reason began with philosophers and scientists of the 17 th and 18 th centuries who called themselves Rationalists • Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau • These people influenced the authors of the Declaration of Independence

Why is tinkering worth talking about? • Homegrown practicality and an interest in scientific tinkering or experimenting thrived in American colonies • Early colonists had to be thinkers and tinkers to survive, “they had to make do with what they had and… had to achieve results. ”

If I’m a Rationalist… • I believe… • Human beings can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or on intuition • Man is basically good and capable of great things • Man is a tabula rasa, or blank slate—humans can be PERFECTED through effort and the use of reason • I can improve myself NOW and I can improve the world around me NOW. Rationalists focused on the present as opposed to the hereafter.

Rationalism and the Revolution • Rationalists believed democracy was the BEST for of government (down with Theocracy!) • The American struggle for Independence was justified by rationalist principles • The Declaration of Independence bases its arguments on rationalist assumptions about relations between people, God, and natural law.

Puritans vs. Rationalists: God Puritans believed: • “God [is] actively and mysteriously involved in the workings of the universe. ” Rationalists believed: • Sir Isaac Newtown said God is a “clockmaker. ” • God’s special gift to humanity was reason— “the ability to think in an ordered, logical manner. ”

God is like a Clockmaker • God is not actively involved in my daily life • He sets things in motion, but it is up to use logic and reason to discover the truths about the world and human beings

Deism • God is accessible to ALL men at ALL TIMES • The universe is “orderly and good” • Every individual is perfectible through the use of reason • God’s objective was “the happiness of his creatures. ” • The best for of worship was to do good for others.

Self-Made Man • Rationalism built the archetype of the “selfmade man” • Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography was the original story of the American self-made man