Your Moment of Zen: Benjamin Franklin on Human Reason
September 25th, 2008
At left: Benjamin Franklin, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1777
Human reason is a much-studied topic in philosophy. I’ve always enjoyed this observation on the powers of human reason by Benjamin Franklin, from his Autobiography.
First, though a bit of context for the following anecdote. The story occurs early in Franklin’s life, as he was fleeing indentured servitude and his brother in Boston on a Philadelphia-bound ship. During the voyage, the ship was becalmed off Block Island. Franklin spent time watching the crew supplement the food supply by fishing for cod. At the time, Franklin was a vegetarian. While observing the fishermen prepare the cod for supper, he has a witty insight into the powers of human reason:
I believe I have omitted mentioning that, in my first voyage from Boston, being becalm’d off Block Island, our people set about catching cod, and hauled up a great many. Hitherto I had stuck to my resolution of not eating animal food, and on this occasion consider’d, with my master Tryon, the taking every fish as a kind of unprovoked murder, since none of them had, or ever could do us any injury that might justify the slaughter. All this seemed very reasonable. But I had formerly been a great lover of fish, and, when this came hot out of the frying-pan, it smelt admirably well. I balanc’d some time between principle and inclination, till I recollected that, when the fish were opened, I saw smaller fish taken out of their stomachs; then thought I, “If you eat one another, I don’t see why we mayn’t eat you.” So I din’d upon cod very heartily, and continued to eat with other people, returning only now and then occasionally to a vegetable diet. So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.
– Autobiography, Ch. 4
October 14th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Interesting I did not know that benjamin Franklin was a vegetarian. i would assume that it was, relatively speaking, a much healthier diet, than the norm for those days. Vegetarians are by and large healtier than most people. But, to be a vegetarian in the late 1700’s would mean your health was leaps and bounds ahead of the every day person of the time.
Your observation shows how the idea of Vegetarianism has changed over the centuries. Intersting.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am
It is one of those odd facts about Franklin. If we are to believe his autobiography, he maintained a fairly healthy diet — and good health — for a long time, though, eventually, gout caught up with him.