Summary Of Franklin's Letter To The Enlightenment

Taken from a letter written by Franklin for Joseph Priestley, an English chemist, the quote attempts to answer the question, what is Enlightenment? The purpose of the letter was to thank Priestley for his critic on a paper Franklin had written on the Aurora Borealis. This letter was written during the Enlightenment, which included writers that focused on an exchange of ideas. This time period was not just about intellectual improvements, but also political and social improvements. There were revolutions throughout this time period, which would inevitably lead to social change. Franklin is known for his influence on the American Revolution and what was then the newly forming American government. This, however, was not his only accomplishment. Franklin was also a renowned scientist of his time.
Throughout the letter, it is fairly easy to detect the excitement in …show more content…
More than a writer, he was a scientist who spent his life to help humanity further their understanding of the world around. Being one of the writers for the Declaration of Independence clearly earned Franklin a big name during the Enlightenment, however, for me he was more impactful with his contributions to science. From the letter, it is evident that Franklin only wanted society to be better than they were, he was looking for constant improvement. As he says in the letter, “that men would cease to be wolves to one another,” shows how much faith he had in humans to actually improve upon themselves (Franklin, pg 128). While he was not as detailed as Kant he managed to encompass the true meaning of the Enlightenment, a movement based on improvement. From the writers we read in class, Franklin to me was the most straightforward thinker. Perhaps that has to do with his style of thinking, a logical more scientific approach. He thought like a scientist, not a philosopher as some other Enlightenment thinkers may