Benjamin Franklin: Ethics And Virtues

Both men had some affiliation with Christianity: praise and thank God for their good fortune in life. Franklin wanted to attain Moral Perfection, given that he enumerated 13 virtues: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chasity, Humility. Franklin even contends to follow the actions of Jesus, The Son of God. He believed that the only religion that matters to him is the religion of hard work and material success. He values rationality and reasonableness above all.

“Man 's tongue is soft, and bone doth lack; yet a stroke therewith may break a man 's back.” From Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1740, these are several out of thousands of wise words spoken by America’s greatest Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. He was among the most famous people of his time period and was one of the greatest celebrated figures in the history of the United States. There are numerous ways in which he achieved these titles but they all amount to the one feature that was constant throughout his entire life, success. Through inventing, writing, conducting science experiments such as detecting the presence of electricity in lightning, and being one of the biggest renowned diplomats during the 18th century, his life would leave a

1. “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” ― Benjamin Franklin 2. Benjamin Franklin remains one of the founding fathers of the United States of America because he drafted the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Franklin also was an author, politician, scientist, and inventor who were born in Boston in 1706.

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin will forever be remembered as great men of stature and character. The similarities of these two brings them in the same conversation continuously when discussing history. Luckily for America, these men graced us with their presence on earth during the same time. Imagine without these two together, how different the Constitution or Declaration of Independence might be. This essay will compare and contrast Thomas Jefferson, the third President of this great nation and a fellow Founding Father Benjamin Franklin by discussing their views on deism, self-reliance and standards of character; all setting the standard for people in America as written by these two Founding Fathers during their time on earth and

Franklin was trying to reach perfection, and this excerpt documents that struggle. Many people try to reach a higher level of humanity, but none are able to achieve it. People will alway be flawed, no matter how they may wish this was not the case. “...I believe this [is] the case of many, who, having, for want of some

In the 1720’s, Benjamin Franklin organized a group who called themselves the Junto in Philadelphia. The Junto figured out that most colonies had some book collectors, or book sellers so they wanted all citizens to gain knowledge and read. Most of the citizens could not afford to buy the books though. Although, the Junto organized a subscription lending library which was any man could read books that are available in the library and the subscribers could borrow books to be returned later. This made the public have access to may books and information that they would not of had.

There were a lot of American men who had perfect influence on people’s mind of American society. Jonathan Edward and Benjamin Franklin were two of those writers, who were the most important and intellectual men, who left behind many admirable works for the future society. In spite of them being so intelligent, they have some different and similar views in terms of morality, personal responsibility, human nature, and limits of human knowledge and inform people how to live a better life. In addition, they were different in terms of religious inclinations. Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edward were both philosopher and had similar views in terms of informing people the right way to live in order to be successful and get salvation by reforming their mind in their life.

Benjamin Franklin is known to be an “Archetypal American,” because of his beliefs on religion, self-improvement, hard work, and determination; but also his somewhat prideful spirit. Much of modern America is quite similar to Franklin in his actions throughout his lifetime. In his early years, Franklin’s father, Josiah, had a set plan for what he was supposed to do with his life, as a minister. Soon into his education, he found an interest in reading and writing, so he began pursuing a career in printing.

Franklin’s life was greatly influenced by Renaissance idealism. He was very inspired by the world around him and decided to pursue many aspects of the world which he found interesting. Most would say he was

Benjamin Franklin and His 13 Virtues In part II of Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, he lists the 13 virtues every man should follow to establish a modeled “habitude” that would better life for all men of the time period. Although not all men of the 1780s were perfect examples of these virtues, these virtues are what the “old lights” strived to be. The virtues “occurred to [Franklin] as necessary or desirable” (Franklin, 428). The success of the nation was reliant on heading towards a similar goal - a goal to be a well-respected example for the nation.

In his early life, Franklin begins to exhibit a trait that is now an integral part of American identity: a commitment to self-improvement.

Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine both believed that organized religion is unnecessary to society. While their perspectives on freedom within an organized religion are similar, they had unique opinions on the freedom within religion. First, Franklin and Paine both thought that one’s own reason should be used in place of an organized religion. Franklin believed that religion should be worshipping God with your own standards and not societies. He believes this is more beneficial than practicing it as a community because it is more engaging for the individual.

In conclusion, Benjamin Franklin 's life was full of interest, public service, and his legacy made him a good leader and a good citizen. Franklin is one of the most extraordinary human beings the world has ever known. He was an enlightened American and a good citizen. He rose from obscurity to become one of the greatest men of history. Although Benjamin Franklin will be remembered for his contributions to science and the founding of the United States, in the long run it could well be his personal system of ethics that endures the longest.

As a result, Benjamin Franklin is a wise man, in order to create trusts from the members of the congress, he utilizes his ethos by accepting his fallibilities and willing to do good for the constitution to be

(Ethics 938). It is not enough to state that one is virtuous, nor is it enough for someone to be born virtuous and end there. Rather, it is the continuous pursuit, the juxtaposition of virtuous activity and of that which isn’t, that allows an individual to flourish in an Aristotelian society. We can deduce, then, that “…human