A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain is a philosophical pamphlet byBenjamin Franklin, published inLondon in 1725 in response toThe Religion of Nature Delineated.
It argues that anomnipotent,benevolent God is incompatible with notions of humanfree will andmorality. The second portion of the pamphlet goes on to formulate that allmotivations are derived frompain and that pain is met with an equal amount ofpleasure. He then concludes that this means that man cannot be superior to animals because we are all equal in God's eyes. Franklin acknowledges how offensive this idea would be to the reader, and refuted it later.[1]
The point of the pamphlet seems to followCalvinism. Franklin was raised Calvinist as a child but in his teenage years became aDeist, arguing that Calvinism cannot logically be a moral way to live.
In 1779, Franklin came to disagree with the points he printed inDissertation and burned all the copies he possessed of the pamphlet but one for historical purposes. However, since he had already come to give several copies to friends of his, four original copies still survive. They are in the possession of theBritish Library,Library of Congress,John Carter Brown Library, andYale University Library.[2]
 | This article about a book onethics is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
 | This article about a non-fiction book onphilosophy of religion is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
 | This article about a book related toReformed Christianity is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
