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Benjamin Franklin: the icon of Rationalism 1706 - 1790. “…everything but a poet.” . A man committed to the commonweal: B. Franklin - “The First American”. Printer – apprentice -> owner Writer – Silence Do Good -> Poor Richard Saunders
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Benjamin Franklin:the icon of Rationalism1706 - 1790 “…everything but a poet.”
A man committed to the commonweal: B. Franklin - “The First American” • Printer– apprentice -> owner • Writer– Silence Do Good -> Poor Richard Saunders • Publisher– newspaper -> almanac - > printing franchise • Civic advocate – library, hospital, Philosophical Society, fire department, fire insurance, • Scientist– electricity, physics, oceanography • Inventor– Franklin stove, swim flippers, bifocals, lightning rod • Diplomat – colonial representative -> England & France • Statesman – Continental Congress -> Declaration of Independence -> Treaty of Paris -> Constitutional Convention
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin published in various editions 1790 - 1868 If he could, anyone could: runaway apprentice - > working man -> business owner -> civic advocate -> politician -> international diplomat
The Moral Essay “Arriving at Moral Perfection” - the thirteen virtues Addresses the Rationalist belief in self-improvement Encourages logical, reasoned, orderly process – One virtue per week, thirteen weeks, repeated 4 times per year = Success! Metaphor of gardener: weeding one bed at a time keeps from overwhelming the gardener
Aphorisms From Poor Richard’s AlmanackPublished from 1732 til 1758 Common sense for and from the common man – everyday wisdom drawn from the common experience of everyday life: flies & honey horses & horseshoes visitors & fish
Bibliography • EOL • Benjamin Franklin (1778, New York , The Metropolitan Museum of Art) nibiryukov.narod.ru • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin • http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/index.htm • http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/inventions.htm • http://www.colourfulpalate.com/2011/07/16/square-foot-gardening/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Richard%27s_Almanack • http://winnipeganimals.blogspot.com/2010/05/benjamin-franklin-eating-bread.html • http://thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com/ • http://photographicdictionary.com/h/horseshoe • http://souptonutz.wordpress.com/page/2/