I really want to emphasize that Jefferson was not a good guy, not morally good at all, definitely raped his slave Sally Hemmings who was probably younger than 15 when it started but at least 15 (Jefferson was in his 40s). Prevented her from fleeing his rape house when he took her to France by promising he’d free her whole family and her when they got back, and then didn’t (because he wanted to keep raping her, probably). Oh and also, her brother went to France with them and learned French cooking for Jefferson, and the ice cream recipe he used for Jefferson is still served to this day at Mt Rushmore as Thomas Jefferson’s ice cream. Even though it’s not his.
https://www.vox.com/2016/4/8/11389556/thomas-jefferson-sally-hemings-book
This is not a man with a good moral backbone. For reference, literally no other founder did anything like this. Sure, many cheated - with adults who weren’t their personal child slaves. This is extremely disturbing, and before anyone goes to defend him, really ask yourself why you’re empathizing with Jefferson here and not poor Sally.
There are better philosophers out there.
Wow you got me, I’m actually a racing racist and pedo just because I mentioned that one of the most prominent founding fathers was not terribly religious (??)
What? Where did I state that?
I’m giving context to people reading your suggestion -that Jefferson isn’t a saint and we have evidence he was engaging in some really immoral actions, even for the time. That’s relevant when we are talking about philosophy and how he may have used this work to justify some of these beliefs.
It’s fine to like a work and be critical of that work. Critical thinking is good.
Great, thankfully I didn’t say any of those things, so I’m not sure why you’re calling me out on a conversation you seem to be having only with yourself. What a weird interjection to make. Should I always include a disclaimer warning people not to go on a rampage against the Marcomanni if I mention Meditations?
What a terribly bad faith interpretation of their comment. Theyre making the point that while it’s neat that Jefferson de-religioned the bible, and left the philosophy, Jefferson himself wasn’t exactly an ethical paragon and that should be remembered. It wasn’t an attack against you.
They replied to me, and it had nothing to do with the topic at hand (the founding fathers’ religious beliefs). It’s like barging into a conversation about the autobahn yelling GUYS, HITLER WAS REALLY BAD! I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT!
