October 2008 Archives

Philip Jahnke

Honors Program

Directed Writing Five

Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was influenced by the Enlightenment and by Deism. This author will try to discuss how Jefferson uses Enlightenment thought and Deism in the Declaration of Independence.

To understand Jefferson's usage of Enlightenment thought, people must understand the period called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a period in which the thoughts of the Scientific Revolution were popularized and were applied to other areas besides science. The philosophers and thinkers of the Enlightenment "felt that people were ready to shrug off the shackles of tradition and custom and participate in the progress of civilization" (Harrison 469). The Enlightenment had three basic concepts that all philosophers and thinkers of the Enlightenment agreed upon. These concepts are reason, nature, and change and progress. Reason can be condensed as the following, "All assumptions should be subjected to critical and empirical reasoning. Traditional institutions or customs should not be accepted because they have been long-lasting but rather should be examined critically and held up to the standard of reason. True knowledge is gained empirically" (Harrison 469). Nature is capable of being summarized by, "Nature is ordered, functions reasonably, and constitutes a standard for judgment. Nature is governed by a few simple and unchangeable laws. A move to nature is a move toward wholesome vigor and freedom" (Harrison 469). Change and progress can be abridged as, "Change and progress work hand in hand as human beings work to perfect themselves and their society. Change should not be viewed with distrust as a deterioration from a previously superior, more perfect state of things. Change, when dictated by reason and when in line with nature, liberates individuals and should be pursued" (Harrison 469).

One other thing that people must understand to comprehend the influences on Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence is what Deism is. According to author Daniel Reid, "... deism is essentially a rationalistic religion, which assumes that all men naturally possess the ability to know the universe's Deity through reason, and that the creator of the universe was a rational architect. On the other hand, unlike Renaissance humanism it [Deism] assigned God to the outer reaches of the universe, seeing him as only a beneficent, impersonal, and artful creator" (Reid ).

In the very first sentence, Thomas Jefferson shows the influence of Enlightenment thought on him. He writes, "When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another..." (Jefferson 1). "Necessary" (Thomas Jefferson 1) meaning that the people are ready to "shrug off the shackles of tradition and custom" which is what many of the thinkers of the Enlightenment thought (Harrison 469). Jefferson shows the influence of the nature concept of the Enlightenment when he writes, "...unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (Jefferson 1). In Enlightenment thought, nature is directed by a small number of laws. The "unalienable Rights" that Jefferson writes about are a part of those laws.  Jefferson wrote about nature again when he said, "We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity..." (Jefferson 3). He does so again later on in the same paragraph when he writes, "They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of consanguinity" (Jefferson 3). These two quotes from the Declaration of Independence both show the influence of the concept of nature from the Enlightenment in that nature is supposed to be used as a standard for judgment (Harrison 469).

The next concept from the Enlightenment that Jefferson shows in the Declaration of Independence is change and progress. The first place that we see its influence is when Jefferson pens, "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness" (Jefferson 1). To some people it would seem that this sentence has nothing to do with the Enlightenment concept of change and progress, but if people were to look closely they will see that this sentence does connect to change and progress in that the "People" are getting rid of, changing, one government for another.

The last concept of the Enlightenment that Jefferson shows influenced his writing is reason.  He writes that, "...it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security" (Jefferson 1). This is a long excerpt but it shows that Jefferson was influenced by reason when he says "Duty" because thinkers of the Enlightenment believed that all traditional institutions should be thoroughly inspected by reason to see if they match up to the standard that reason has set (Harrison 469). He also shows the influence of reason by stating that, "A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People" (Jefferson 1). This segment is easily attributed to reason because the sentence seems logical.

The final influence on Jefferson was Deism. The Deist influence, in this author's opinion is faint and almost nonexistent, but it is there. This is somewhat seen when Jefferson writes, "...endowed by their Creator..." (Jefferson 1). This piece means that the Creator has created humans, endowed them with what they have, and then left them alone. It shows the deist idea that God is in the outer reaches of the universe and does not involve himself in worldly affairs very often (Reid).

Works Cited

Harrison, J., R. Sullivan, and D. Sherman. "The Enlightenment." A Short History of Western Civilizations. 6th ed. New York, NY, 1985. 469-70.

Reid, Daniel G., ed. "Deism." Dictionary of Christianity. Dowers Grove, IL: InterVarsity P, 1990.

Philip Jahnke

Honors Program

Directed Writing Four

Thomas Aquinas, the First Principle, and the First Condition

Thomas Aquinas uses the first principle and the first condition together with his conviction of the harmony between faith and reason. To understand how Thomas Aquinas uses these things together in his writing a person must understand what he means when he says the harmony between faith and reason. Aquinas considers faith to be the supernatural order. The order consists of God, heaven, angels and other things. Most importantly this order is known through faith in God's revelation. The other order of which Thomas Aquinas speaks is the natural order. The natural order is the world in which humans live. Aquinas says that the natural order is known through reason. Thomas Aquinas also says that since God created both of these orders they must be in harmony with one another. Aquinas combines this conviction with the primary truths. The primary truths being that humans exist, the principle of non-contradiction known as the first principle, and the ability of the mind to know truth also known as the first condition.

Thomas Aquinas uses the first principle, the principle of non-contradiction, to say that since God created both orders, the natural and supernatural, they cannot be in conflict with one another. Aquinas starts out by saying that the "truth of the Christian faith" is beyond the ability of human reason to comprehend. This statement sounds contradictory, but is in fact true because the truth of the Christian faith is from the supernatural order and not the natural order, human reason. It is also true because of the first condition, the ability of the mind to know truth. Since a person's mind knows that it is true it must therefore be true. Thomas uses the first condition and his conviction of the harmony between faith and reason when he talks about a teacher teaching a disciple. He says that the "thing that the disciple's mind receives from its teacher is contained in the knowledge of the teacher." Thomas also says, "...the knowledge of naturally known principles [the primary truths] is instilled into us by God, since God himself is the author of our nature." The connection between these two statements and how Aquinas uses the first condition and the first principle together with his conviction of the harmony between faith and reason is obvious. The obvious connection is that the "knowledge of the naturally know principles" come from God. They come from God because God is both the author of human kind's nature and because God is the teacher of human kind. Since God is the teacher of humanity, he must teach sincerely or the natural knowledge that humans have would not be from him. This would be a contradiction because this author has already established that humanity's natural knowledge comes from God. Another point that can be made here is that anything that is opposed to the primary truths cannot be from God because the primary truths come from God and because of the first principle, the principle of non-contradiction. Since God is the one that made the primary truths part of a human being, Thomas Aquinas says that they, the primary truths, are also part of the "divine Wisdom." This statement again drives home the fact that if something is in conflict with the primary truths this thing cannot be from God. Another way that Thomas Aquinas proves reiterates the fact that humanity's core truths, the primary truths, come from God is when he writes, "Our intellect is stayed by contrary arguments, so that it cannot advance to the truth." He goes on to write that, "...if conflicting knowledges were instilled into us by God, our intellect would thereby be hindered from knowing the truth." This simply cannot be the case because God is the one who instilled in us the primary truths and because it would break, again, the first principle.

To talk more about the natural order, Thomas Aquinas writes that, "Things that are natural are unchangeable so long as nature remains. Therefore God does not instil into man any opinion or belief contrary to natural knowledge." Aquinas goes on to quote from the Bible Romans 10:8, which reads, "The word is nigh thee even in thy heart and in thy mouth. This is the word of faith which we preach." Many readers would conclude that because what he wrote passes reason it must not be true because it is a contradiction. This is not a contradiction because all Christians know that the Bible is the true and inspired word of God. With the belief that the Bible is the inspired word of, Thomas Aquinas concludes "that whatever arguments are alleged against the teachings of faith, they do not rightly proceed from the first self-evident principles instilled by nature." Since the arguments do not come from the primary truths, all people can conclude that these arguments have no power.