AMERICAN
RATIONALISM
1750-1800
R A T ION ALISM
• R A T I O N A L I S M – the belief that human
beings can arrive at truth by using reason,
rather than by relying on the authority of
the past, on religious faith, or intuition.
A
REACTION
AGAINST
PURITANISM
• By the end of the 17th century, REASON
began to present a challenge to the
unshakable faith and inflexible customs of
the Puritans.
VS.
REACTION
AGAINST
U R Ithe
TA
N I witch
S M trials
Arthur MillerPclaims
Salem
A
•
“developed from a paradox” (Miller 141).
• The Puritans lived under a theocracy and a rigid
set of rules designed to “prevent any…disunity
that might open [their community] to destruction
by…ideological enemies” (141).
• But soon the “repressions of order” became
more harmful than the very “dangers against
which the order was organized” (141).
• The witch trials ended—namely, because
individual voices of REASON forced the
community to wake up.
Unlike the Puritans…
• Rationalists believed all people
were able to perfect themselves—
through good works and self-effort
I will not
drink
more than
one Dr.
Pepper
today!
Philosopher Saint
Anselm of Canterbury’s
idea "I believe so that I
might understand”
is replaced with…
REASON and
Philosopher René
LOGIC become
Descartes’s idea "I
more important
think, therefore I am." than only living
by FAITH and
RELIGION
THIS PERIOD IS OFTEN
CALLED “ THE AGE OF
REASON ” OR “ THE
ENLIGHTENMENT ”
• Less focus on hell or life after death and
more concern with creating a better life on
earth…and yet, Christian beliefs
still
a
I believe
in play
one God,
central role for the thinkers of
time.and I
andthe
no more;
hope for happiness
beyond this life.
THOMAS PAINE
THE AGE OF REASON
GOD’S GIFT TO
HUMANITY WAS…
• Reason – the ability to think in an ordered,
logical manner enabled people to discover
both scientific and spiritual truth.
“Reason and free inquiry…are
the natural enemies of error,
and of error only.”
Thomas Jefferson,
Notes on the State of Virginia
THOMAS JEFFERSON’S
BIBLE
• Jefferson changed parts of the
Bible to create a new version—
particularly the parts that tell
about the life of Jesus.
• He removed the supernatural
aspects: miracles, angels, and
the divinity and resurrection of
Jesus.
• He wanted a Bible that showed
Jesus as a great moral
teacher, but nothing more.
HOWEVER, JEFFERSON
ALSO
PROMOTED TOLERANCE
OF PEOPLE’S RELIGIOUS
BELIEFS
DEISM
• From the Latin root deus, meaning
God.
• A belief that emerged in the 17th and
18th centuries that humans can know
God through reason and the
observation of nature, rather than by
revelation, the supernatural, or
miracles.
A belief in God and Science was
not seen as a contradiction
• Scientist Sir Isaac Newton often compared
God to a clockmaker.
• He said, “Gravity explains the motions of the
planets, but it cannot explain who set the
planets in motion. God governs all things and
knows all that is or can be done.”
But, unlike the Puritans…
• many thinkers of this time
period thought God “made
the clock,” but then, left it
alone and let it run.
• Most rejected the beliefs of
the Puritans that God
predetermined the path of
people’s lives before they
were even born.
DEISTS BELIEVED…
– The universe was orderly and good.
– Through the use of reason, every
human being was perfectible.
– God’s objective was the happiness of
his creatures.
– There were punishments and rewards
after this life
– Their faith was a philosophy and a guide
for an ethical way of living rather than an
organized religious institution
DEISTS DID NOT
B
E
L
I
E
V
E
…
– In superstition
– In the holy trinity
– In a literal
interpretation of
the Bible
– That worship
required
attending a
service (one
could worship
privately)
RATIONALIST
L
I
T
E
R
A
T
U
R
E
:
- mostly devoted to politics, philosophy, ethics,
and science
– persuasive essays and pamphlets
– songs
– speeches
– poems
– documents such as The Declaration of
Independence--which bases its arguments
on rationalist assumptions about the relations
between people, God, and natural law.
RATIONALIST
LITERATURE:
Many of the documents and speeches from this
time period are known for their powerful use of
PERSUASIVE
RHETORIC , which is…
the art of using language to argue and convince
others to adopt a position or act in a certain way.
•
•
•
•
RATIONALISM
THRIVED ON…
freedom of speech
freedom from arbitrary rules
freedom to experiment
freedom to question existing laws and
institutions of authority
The Age of Reason in the United States
differed from previous Rationalist
movements in Europe—namely, because
American citizens were testing these ideas
as they created a new society.
RATIONALISM
WAS
ABOUT
HOPE
• “What then is…this new man? He is an
American, who, leaving behind him all his
ancient prejudices and manners, receives new
ones from the new mode of life he has
embraced, the new government he obeys, and
the new rank he holds…[In America]
individuals of all nations are melted into a new
race of men, whose labors…will one day
cause great changes in the world.”
– Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur,
Letters from an American Farmer