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Emerson's religion is almost animistic and is certainly monistic: he postulates an "identical nature" at the heart of all living creatures and views all life as one. In "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain," however, Franklin's views do coincide more with Emerson's regarding the oneness of all things when the author states: "every Creature must be equally esteem'd by the Creator."
Still, Franklin's life and writing reveals a more secular outlook on life than Emerson's, too. Emerson, who seemed inured to scientific developments, barely mentions the role of technology in advancing human progress. Franklin, especially given his inventiveness and affinity for scientific progress, valued the role of technology in the process of enlightenment. In Poor Richard's Almanac, Franklin claims that industry is virtuous; Emerson does not seem as enthralled with the role of labor in human affairs. For Emerson, meditation serves a more central purpose than technological progress does. For Franklin, on the other hand, hard work is the essence of human virtue.
Although neither Emerson nor Franklin avowed organized religion, Emerson was more staunchly independent and promoted an unabashedly individualistic approach toward religion. For example, Emerson refers to the "perfect sweetness" of the "independence of solitude" in his essay on "Self-Reliance." Even though both men championed the rights of the individual and promoted personal approaches to religion, Emerson's vision of deity differs significantly from that of Franklin. When Franklin mentions God in his writing the author does so as...
Emerson's God is personal, present in the human soul.
Therefore, in spite of the similar trends of thought running through the written works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Benjamin Franklin, the two Americans viewed the world through entirely different eyes. Franklin, who developed his ideas prior to the birth of the nation, presented religion as ancillary to social life. Political life, intellectual curiosity, and technological progress are all themes present in Franklin's works but not in Emerson's. Monism, mystical contemplation, and a worldview that embraced all living creatures as imbued with God are all themes expressed by Emerson in his essays and not in Franklin's. In spite of the thematic differences in their respective works, both Franklin and Emerson emerged as revolutionary, sometimes radical free thinkers.
Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Over-soul." Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.channingchurch.org/Frontpage/oversoul.html
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." 1841. Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.emersoncentral.com/self-reliance.htm
Franklin, Benjamin. "Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion." 1728. Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf2/articles.htm
Franklin, Benjamin. "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain." Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf1/m7.htm
Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard's Almanac." Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://pages.prodigy.net/jmiller.cb/prs10.html
Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The Over-soul." Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.channingchurch.org/Frontpage/oversoul.html
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." 1841. Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.emersoncentral.com/self-reliance.htm
Franklin, Benjamin. "Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion." 1728. Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf2/articles.htm
Franklin, Benjamin. "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain." Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf1/m7.htm
Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard's Almanac." Retrieved June 22, 2008 at http://pages.prodigy.net/jmiller.cb/prs10.html
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