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Is Benjamin Franklin, the familiar cultural icon whose face appears on coins, currency, and postage stamps, in addition to being an affable inventor, printer, and humorist also an important American philosopher? In Recovering Benjamin Franklin, James Campbell attempts to "recover" Benjamin Franklin's role as philosopher. In the broad eighteenth-century understanding of the term "philosopher", most people would say that Franklin clearly qualifies as one. But since the beginning of the twentieth century, the meaning of the term has narrowed. What should be said about Franklin as philosopher in the current sense of the word?
Part of the problem is that Franklin's thought is difficult to classify. Franklin is not a composer of lengthy, systematic treatises. Instead, we know him as the author of letters and essays, primarily short and often fragmentary, that were intended for diverse audiences. Was Franklin a thinker whose interests were nearly universal, or was he a dabbler who flew from topic to topic? Was he a minor intellectual who was incapable of sustained theoretical work, or was he a thinker who recognized that thought must function in the world?
In answering these questions, Campbell provides a survey of the events in Franklin's rich life and explores his extraordinary place in American history, along the way challenging a series of popular misconceptions that are based upon narrow interpretations of Franklin's work. To foster a more adequate understanding, the author lays out in detail Franklin's ideas in four areas: science, religion, morality, and politics.
Finally, Campbell explores Franklin's place in the history of American philosophy, ultimately concluding that Franklinshould be considered an early figure in the Pragmatist movement whose contribution was similar in importance to later figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, and John Dewey.
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About the Author:
James Campbell is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toledo. He is the author of UNDERSTANDING JOHN DEWEY (Open Court, 1995), winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Book award, and THE COMMUNITY
Review:
At last, an impeccably researched, thoughtfully and cogently presented version of the work and person of Benjamin Franklin as an originating thinker in the American tradition of philosophical pragmatism. -- John McDermott, Texas A&M University
Campbell's learned, balanced book is the first to do justice to Franklin as a philosopher. The splendid portrait it paints leaves one in awe of Franklin's intellect and deeply appreciative of Campbell's vivid account of it. -- John Lachs, Vanderbilt University
Campbell's learned, balanced book is the first to do justice to Franklin as a philosopher. The splendid portrait it paints leaves one in awe of Franklin's intellect and deeply appreciative of Campbell's vivid account of it. -- John Lachs, Vanderbilt University
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherOpen Court
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 1422394255
- ISBN 13 9781422394250
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages302
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