Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Public discourse regarding the Founding Fathers has devolved from measured critique to outright condemnation over the last few decades. This condemnation generally springs from the fact that some of the Founding Fathers were slave owners and that slavery was prevalent in the early United States.
But is it fair to completely condemn the founders of our nation for participating in an institution that pre-existed their own births? Should we discard all of the contributions of the founders because they owned slaves and lived in a society where slavery was legal?
More generally, how should we evaluate historical figures that made meaningful, positive contributions but often behaved in immoral ways and participated in common societal practices that we now deem despicable? In this video Adam breaks down how we should judge historical figures.
This video is based on an article that can be found here: thinkingwest.com/2023/02/22/the-uncommon-act-the-moral-arc
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ThinkingWest aims to revive the “Great Conversation” in our digital age through promoting the study of the great books of the western world, classical approaches to education, and through thoughtful commentary on current events, history, philosophy, culture, education, and religion.
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Website: thinkingwest.com
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Classic book lists: thinkingwest.com/book-lists
#history #foundingfathers #washington #philosophers #philosopher #philosopherkings #leadership #wisdom
Public discourse regarding the Founding Fathers has devolved from measured critique to outright condemnation over the last few decades. This condemnation generally springs from the fact that some of the Founding Fathers were slave owners and that slavery was prevalent in the early United States.
But is it fair to completely condemn the founders of our nation for participating in an institution that pre-existed their own births? Should we discard all of the contributions of the founders because they owned slaves and lived in a society where slavery was legal?
More generally, how should we evaluate historical figures that made meaningful, positive contributions but often behaved in immoral ways and participated in common societal practices that we now deem despicable? In this video Adam breaks down how we should judge historical figures.
This video is based on an article that can be found here: thinkingwest.com/2023/02/22/the-uncommon-act-the-moral-arc
BECOME A MEMBER
Join this channel to get access to special perks and support our mission:
youtube.com/channel/UCgJSeqS_3WKesXOP7q3Z9fQ/join
ABOUT THINKINGWEST
ThinkingWest aims to revive the “Great Conversation” in our digital age through promoting the study of the great books of the western world, classical approaches to education, and through thoughtful commentary on current events, history, philosophy, culture, education, and religion.
LINKS
Website: thinkingwest.com
Donate to support this work: thinkingwest.com/donate
Classic book lists: thinkingwest.com/book-lists
#history #foundingfathers #washington #philosophers #philosopher #philosopherkings #leadership #wisdom
