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 17th and 18th 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: Rationalists believed: “God [is] actively and mysteriously involved in the workings of the universe.” 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 us 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 “self-made man” Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography was the original story of the American self-made man