I just finished Benjamin
Franklin: An American Life by Walter
Isaacson. I highly recommend this one. It is fairly comprehensive, yet very
readable account of Franklin’s life. Like most worthwhile biographies, it
contains a multitude of ideas worth pondering.
One of Isaacson’s principle
themes is that Franklin was a supreme thinker, but he was a mostly practice thinker. He had very little interest in
higher-level concepts. This was true for all of Franklin’s various pursuits
including science, philosophy, theology, politics, etc. For instance,
Franklin’s writings encouraged various “good” and efficient behavior aimed at
making a person a success. Abstract and metaphysical concepts relating to this
behavior, such as virtue, Forms, pleasing God, etc., had little place in Franklin’s
worldview. Isaacson makes a strong case
that Franklin could be pigeonholed into a class of practical men who have
little inclination to theorize about such nonconcrete ideas.
Reading the Franklin
biography, I was struck by the diversity of fields that man successfully delved
into. He was truly a Renaissance Man. This Founding Farther made important
contributions to philosophy, science, newspaper publishing, business, and
American Society in general. Furthermore it can be argued, and Isaacson does,
that Franklin achieved one of, and perhaps the greatest, diplomatic success in
American history. He was the architect of the alliance with France that was
essential for the survival of the young United States. On top of this, his role
in the creation of the Declaration of independence as well as the Drafting of
the US Constitution had a profound effect upon American History as well current
events. If one looks at the political happenings of the current American
government, one we see a process partially shaped by Franklin.
I think that it is
inconceivable that a citizen of the 21st century could achieve this
level of success in so many diverse areas as Franklin did. I would argue that
there was detailed knowledge relating to these various fields back in the 18th
century, thus making it easier to be so accomplished in such a wide variety of
pursuits.
I also believe that the
world was more tolerant of generally smart people poking around in professions
with no formal training or education back then. Just imagine a successful newspaper
publisher and/or columnist today deciding to conduct research in electrical
engineering, with no formal background in the field!
I am not minimizing Franklin’s
accomplishments. He was a genius. His genius was just very compatible with his
time.
Anyone with additional interest
in Franklin’s great diplomatic success in Europe might also try with Stacy
Schiff’s A Great
Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America. I read Schiff’s book about a year ago. It is an
intricately detailed account of Franklin’s mission to France from 1776 to 1785.
Since her work covers such a specialized topic, I would say that Schiff’s book
is for those who have a serious curiosity in that diplomatic endeavor.
