Franklin Bettered Himself...

Franklin was able to create a complete list of virtues that reflected his ideas on a perfect being. I do think that these virtues were a great idea to picture people following, but I wonder if Franklin's list actually helped him better himself. I honestly believe that he did do some good in trying to abide by this set of rules, especially because he had to put a lot of thought into them to even write them down on paper. To write these out, you have to thoroughly ponder the ideas you are putting out. Many people today rarely let things like morals cross their mind on specific basis. Franklin, on the other hand, spent much of his valuable time specifically on things like this. He had to study these concepts extensively to even write them out. Today, people never really seem to care about things like this. I cannot imagine someone today writing out something like this today, they would only be mocked and would never be taken seriously. It is obvious that no one really considers these things now. The only time we actually evaluate out morals is when we have a difficult decision at hand. Only then do many of us look to our moral reasoning for a solution. These thoughts lead me to believe that Franklin truly had to have improved his self-worth in this analysis of perfect morals and attempt at following them. He had to have learned something in all of this research. He dedicated so much of his time to following these written ideas that his thought process had to have changed at least a little along the way. Franklin shows that he put excessive thought and consideration into his virtues when Franklin gives these words about his virtuous views: "I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct." (Franklin, 82) This passage makes it completely obvious that Benjamin Franklin improved his personal morals through the process of attempting to follow his virtues.
Some of the most established writers in history applauded Franklin's system of virtues, like Sydney Smith, who was mentioned numerously in Tuckerman's literary criticism of Franklin's works, which were claimed to be revolutionary (Tuckerman, 9-10) Almost all of the critics who analyzed Franklin's work gave it positive feedback, saying that it reflected the ideas purity and independence. Even the other writers who looked into his work said similar things, and praised this magnificent set of morals all in one place. It is clear that these ideas made him a better person.
The standards of society back then were certainly changed after these works were released. Many people took the same route to perfection that Franklin took, attempting to follow his virtues and use a recording system to keep themselves on track. Because of Franklin, the world became just a little bit better to live in due to his many followers. The virtues he included in his work, such as honestly, tranquility, humility, silence, etc., are what people tried to follow, and therefore Franklin was forced to follow (Franklin 83-84). These traits are not difficult to comprehend, they seem simple. The trick is trying to apply them to one's everyday life.



Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography. London: J.M. Dent, 1948. Print.

Tuckerman, Henry T. The Character of Franklin. N.p.: n.p., 1856. Print.