This talk will provide a snap shot of the scientific life of Benjamin Franklin from the perspective, not of Franklin's science, but of his social interactions with other great scientists of the enlightenment. We will find that the pursuit of science was cross-disciplinary -- indeed, the disciplinary boundaries as we know them today were not so well-defined -- and characterized by conviviality. I will focus in particular on Franklin's relationship with Lavoisier, based on the extensive documentary evidence drawn from Franklin's correspondence.
[P1.002] Ben Franklin: A Curiosity-Driven Scientist, a Service-Driven Citizen
Dudley Herschbach (Harvard University)
At the age of 42, Franklin retired from his prosperous printing business, ``to have leisure to read, study, and make experiments." The scope of his scientific work was remarkable. Beyond his key contributions to understanding electrcity, Franklin wrote major papers on population growth, on meterology, on heat conduction and evaporation, charted the Gulf Stream, studied bioluminescence and the stilling of water waves by a surface layer of oil. He also advanced arguments in favor of conservation of mass and the wave theory of light. Although always alert for practical applications, his style was that of an explorer, eager for adventure and insight. However, Franklin did not consider science as important as public service. He promoted many civic projects in Philadelphia, including a circulating library, fire department, paving of streets, hospital, and was the prime mover in founding the American Philosophical Society and an academy that evolved into the University of Pennsylvania. As well as publishing the most widely read newspaper in the colonies and his bestselling almanac, he became public printer for several of the colonies and postmaster. He lived in England 14 years as a trade representative, largely struggling in vain. At the age of 70, he undertook a decade of service as minister to France, achieving against great odds crucial diplomatic triumphs.
[P1.003] "Franklin: Science, Politics and France"
James E. McClellan III (Stevens Institute of Technology)
This presentation traces Benjamin Franklin's career as a
"civic scientist" in Old-Regime France. It outlines the
initial - and not always positive - reception of Franklin's
work on electricity by the community of French scientists in
the 1750s. It sketches Franklin's subsequent elevation into
the pantheon of French Enlightenment heros, and it details
his work as a "civic scientist" while American envoy to
France in the 1770s and 1780s, notably his service on the
government-sponsored commissions that repudiated the
scientific and medical claims of Franz Anton Mesmer. This
presentation concludes by examining a few features of
Franklin's career that are not completely congruent with our
notion of what a "civic scientist" might be, a contrast that
is intended to illuminate both Franklin and the concept of
"civic scientist."
[P1.004] The 'Founding Father' of Civic Science
Neal Lane (Rice University)
Benjamin Franklin is America’s earliest model of the “civic
scientist”. He understood the dynamic of cross-cultural
conversations, inclusive and anticipatory. Science was his
passion and expertise, but society was his concern. As
scientists in a much more complex world than Franklin’s – we
face a society and momentum that, in many ways, we as
scientists have created. Just as many in our ranks have
taken on the task of insuring a better informed public on
scientific matters, and many have moved into policy
positions in government and academic institutions, it is
clearly a moment in history when more of us should actively
seek that role and responsibility that was so clear to
Franklin – the larger public arena.
[P1.005] Commentary and Discussion
Philip W. Hammer (Franklin Institute)