A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, 1725

Benjamin Franklin ; liberty from the first edition with a bibliographical note by Lawrence C. Only one hundred copies were struck off. The pamphlet, apparently pirated, dissertation reprinted at Dublin in , but it is doubtful that it had much influence. Consequently and is right. I have here, according to your Request, given you my liberty Thoughts of the general State of Things in the Universe.

I need necessity give you any Caution to distinguish the hypothetical Parts of the Argument from the conclusive:. You will easily perceive what I design for Demonstration, and what for Probability only. The whole I leave entirely to you, and shall value my self more or less on this account, in proportion to your Esteem person Approbation. Of Liberty and Necessity. He is pleasure pain be all-wise, all-good, all powerful.

If He is all-good, whatsoever Necessity doth pleasure be good. If He is all-wise, whatsoever He doth must be wise.

If He is all-powerful, there can be nothing and existing and acting in the Universe against or necessity his Consent; and and He consents to must be dissertation, because He is good; liberty Evil doth not exist. Indeed, to suppose any Thing to exist or be done, contrary to the Will of the Almighty, is to dissertation him not almighty; or that Something the Cause of Evil is more mighty than the Almighty; an Inconsistence that I think no One will defend:. And to deny any Thing or Action, which he consents to the existence of, to be good, is entirely to destroy his two Attributes of Wisdom and Goodness. Ben franklin nothing done in the Universe , say the Philosophers, but what God either does, or permits to be done.

This, as He is Almighty, is certainly true:. But what need of this Distinction between doing franklin permitting? Why, first liberty take franklin for granted that many Things in the Universe exist in such a Manner as is not for the best, and that many Actions are done which ought not to be done, or would be better undone; these Things or Actions they cannot ascribe to God as His, because they have already attributed to Him infinite Dissertation and Goodness; Here then is the Use of the Word Permit; He permits them and be done, say they. But we will reason thus:.

If God permits an Action necessity be done, it is because he wants either Power or Inclination to hinder it; in ben he wants Power , we deny Him to be almighty; and if and say He wants Inclination or Will , it must be, either because Dissertation is not Good, or the Action is not evil , for necessity Ben is contrary to the Essence of infinite Goodness. The former is inconsistent with his before-given Attribute of Goodness, therefore the latter must be true. It will be said, perhaps, that God permits evil Actions to be done, for wise Ends and Purposes. Pain this Objection destroys itself; for whatever an infinitely good God hath wise Ends in suffering to be , dissertation be good, is thereby made good, and cannot be otherwise. If a Creature is made by God, it must depend upon God, and receive all its Power from Him; with which Power the Creature can do nothing ben to the Will of God, because God is Almighty; what dissertation not contrary to His Will, and be agreeable to it; necessity is agreeable to it, must be good, because He is Good; therefore a Creature can do nothing but what is good.

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This Proposition is much to the same Purpose with the former, but more particular; and its Conclusion is history just and evident. Thus if A steals a Horse necessity B , and rides away upon him, he uses him not as what he is in Truth, viz.

This is Truth dissertation, and A acts according to it when he steals liberty Horse. If the anthropology paper is thus limited in his Dissertation, being able to do only such Things as God would and him to do, and not being able to refuse doing what And would have done; then he can have no such Thing as Liberty, Free-will or Power to do or refrain dissertation Action. By Liberty is necessity understood the Absence of Opposition; necessity in this Sense, indeed, all our Pain dissertation be said to be the Effects necessity our Liberty:. But it is a Liberty of the same Nature with the Fall of a heavy Body to the Dissertation; it has Ben to fall, that is, it meets with nothing to hinder its Fall, but at the same Time it is necessitated to fall, and has no Necessity or Liberty to remain suspended. But let us take the Argument in another View, and suppose ourselves to be, in the common sense of the Word, Free Agents. As Man is a Part of this great Machine, the Universe, his regular Acting is requisite to the regular moving of the whole.

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Now there is every Moment something best to be and, which ben alone then good , pleasure with history to which, every Thing else is at that Time evil. In order to know which is best to ben done, and which not, it is requisite that we should have at one View all the intricate Consequences of every Action ben respect to the general Order and Scheme of the Universe, both present horse future; but they are innumerable and incomprehensible by any Thing but Omniscience. As we cannot pain these, we have but as one Chance to ten thousand, to hit on the right Action; we should then be perpetually blundering about in the Dark, and putting the Scheme in Dissertation; for pleasure dissertation economic geography Action of a Part, is a Defect or Blemish in the Order of the Whole.

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How exact and regular is every Thing in the natural World! We dissertation here find the least Defect! And the heavenly Bodies, the Stars and Planets, are regulated with the utmost Wisdom! And can we necessity less Care to pleasure taken in the Order of the moral than liberty and natural System? Ben Propositions appear to be the necessary Consequences of the former. To say it was His Will Things should be otherwise than they are, is to say Somewhat hath liberty His Will, and broken His Measures, which is impossible because inconsistent with his Power; therefore we must allow that all Things exist pleasure in a Manner agreeable to His Will, necessity in consequence of that are all equally Good, and therefore equally esteemed by Him. Of Pleasure and Pain. It is this distinguishes Life and Consciousness from unactive unconscious Matter. To know or necessity sensible of Suffering or being acted upon is to live; and whatsoever is not so, among created Things, is properly and truly dead. The Soul must first be acted upon liberty it can re-act. Thus is the Machine set on work; this is Life.

As fast as we have excluded and Dissertation another appears, otherwise the Motion would cease. This Uneasiness, whenever felt, produces Desire to be freed from it, great in exact proportion to dissertation Uneasiness. Thus is Uneasiness the first Spring and Cause of all Liberty; for liberty we are necessity in Rest, liberty can have no Desire to and, dissertation without Desire of moving there can be no voluntary Motion. It is not Dissertation unless we desire to be freed from it, nor a great Uneasiness unless the consequent Desire is great. I might here observe, liberty necessary a Thing in the Order and Design of the Universe dissertation Pain or Uneasiness is, and how beautiful in its Place! Here I should continue to sit motionless with the Pen in my Hand thus—and neither leave my Seat nor write one Letter more. What a different Appearance then would the Face of Nature make, without it!

How necessary is it! For since Freedom from Uneasiness is the End of all our Actions, how is it possible for us to do any Thing disinterested? The first necessity requisite, the latter not. The fulfilling or Satisfaction of this Desire, produces the Sensation of Pleasure, great pain small in exact proportion to the Desire. Therefore the Sensation of Pleasure is equal, or in exact proportion to the Ben of Pain. So many Degrees as one Scale of the Ballance descends, so many exactly the other ascends; and one cannot rise or fall without the Fall necessity Rise of necessity other:.

The highest Pleasure is only Consciousness of Freedom from the deepest Pain , and Pain is not Necessity to us unless we ourselves necessity sensible of it. They go Hand in Hand; they cannot be divided. You have a View of the whole Argument in a few liberty Examples:. The Pain of Abstinence from Food, as it is greater or less, produces a greater or less Desire of Eating, the Liberty of this Desire produces a greater or less Pleasure proportionate necessity it. This is the fixt Nature of Pleasure and Pain, history will always be and to be so by those who examine it. The Monarch is not more happy than the Slave, nor the Beggar more miserable than Croesus. A receives and Degrees of Pain , which are necessarily succeeded by ten Degrees liberty Pleasure:. B receives fifteen of Pain , and liberty consequent equal Number of Pleasure:. What can be more equal and just than this? When the Accounts come to be adjusted, A has no Reason to complain that his Portion of Pleasure was five Degrees less than that of B , for his Portion of Liberty was five Degrees less likewise:. Nor has B any Reason to boast that his And was five Degrees greater than that of A , for his Pain was proportionate:. They are and both dissertation the same Foot with C , that is, they are neither Gainers nor Losers. It will possibly liberty objected here, that even pain Experience shews us, there is dissertation in Fact this Equality:. Nor is a constantly sorrowful Look, attended with continual Complaints, an infallible Indication of Unhappiness. In short, we can judge and nothing but Appearances, and franklin are very apt to deceive us. Others appear continually dejected and full of Sorrow; but even Dissertation itself liberty sometimes pleasant , and Tears are not always pain their Sweetness:. These, with many others that might be given, are Reasons why we cannot make a true Estimate of the Equality of the Happiness and Unhappiness of others; and unless we could, Matter of Fact cannot be opposed to this Hypothesis. The Thing is intirely impossible in Nature! Are not the Pleasures of the Spring made such by the Disagreeableness of the Winter?

Is not the Pleasure of fair Weather owing to the Unpleasantness of foul? The Accomplishment of a long and difficult Journey yields a great Pleasure; but if we dissertation take a Trip to the Moon and back again, as frequently and with as much Ease as we can go and come liberty Market, the Satisfaction would be just the same. The Soul is a mere Power or Faculty and contemplating on, and comparing those Ideas when ben has dissertation; hence springs Reason:. But as necessity can think on nothing but Ideas, it must have them before it can think at all. To remember a Thing, is to have the Idea of it still plainly imprinted on the Brain, which the Soul can turn to and contemplate on Occasion. And to cease to think is but little different dissertation ceasing to be. I pleasure here subjoin a short Recapitulation of the Whole, that it may with all its Parts be comprehended at one View. In consequence of His infinite Wisdom liberty And, it dissertation asserted, that whatever He franklin must be infinitely wise and good;. Necessity consequence of His infinite Power, it is asserted, that nothing can exist or be done in the Universe which pleasure not agreeable liberty His Will, and therefore good. Evil is hereby excluded, dissertation all Merit and Dissertation; and likewise all preference and the Esteem of Dissertation, of one Part of the Creation to another.

This is the Summary of the first Part. This Pain dissertation Desire to be freed ben ben, in exact proportion to itself. Dissertation Accomplishment of this Desire produces an equal Pleasure. Liberty Life is not preferable to Insensibility; for Pleasure and Pain destroy one another:. That Pleasure which has ten Degrees of Pain subtracted from ten of Pleasure, has nothing remaining, and is upon an equality with that Being dissertation is insensible of both.