Benjamin Franklin's "Arriving at Perfection" Essay

Ben Franklin became famous for being a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, and a librarian. Today, we honor Ben Franklin as one of the men who founded America and as one of America's greatest citizens.

Ben Franklin's speech at the constitutional convention Patrick Henry's speech about going to war are in some ways similar but in some ways are very different. Also about compromise and agreeing on the constitution. Franklin’s speech was about making compromise and coming to a conclusion among himself and congress. Henry’s speech focused on getting people to fight with the king.

Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea to make his life better by trying to be perfect in every way. This can otherwise be known as trying to reach a state of moral perfection, in which one could find themselves being happy with the life they live, and also living a pure, sinless life. It has come to be questioned if attempting to achieve moral perfection is a worthwhile goal. In the end of his experiment he ended up not being able to reach or achieve his goal but learned a very crucial, very valuable lesson. He discovered throughout the recesses of his journey that achieving his goal would be found to be impossible, but in turn he learned that many of the virtues are good to try and maintain during everyday activities and through life

In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin discusses the importance of thirteen virtues that can make a man as close to perfect as possible. He explains the value of each virtue and keeps a detailed and organized chart of how he practices those virtues. Personally, I understand his methodology in his autobiography and have actually done the same when I was younger. Although I relate to the majority of his listed characteristics, I’ve found that I struggle the most with resolution.

There were many people that helped contribute to the Enlightenment, but the most prominent American leader was a well-know political figure named Benjamin Franklin. The Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason, was period of time when people tried to justify life in terms of scientific theory and rationalism. “The Enlightenment was responsible for inspiring revived interests in education, science, and literature” (“HistoryKing.com”). It also emphasized progression away from traditional customs and foundations

By looking at Benjamin Franklin’s use of metaphor in comparing the attempt at perfection in a human to that in an axe, it is evident that he believes perfection is a laborious task, which proves that, in explaining the difficulty of fulfillment, he is attempting to persuade people to adhere to his lifestyle, as it will produce the desired results. Benjamin Franklin, throughout his life, wrote many articles about his ideas regarding the achievement of perfection in all aspects of life. Immediately succeeding one such article, he explains the difficulty of obtaining said superiority by using the metaphor of a man grinding a speckled axe upon a stone repeatedly to make its surface flawless before conceding that an imperfect axe is easier to attain and therefore best.. To illustrate the cause of the man’s failure, Franklin says that “...this may have been the case with many who, having, for want of some such means as I employed, found the difficulty of obtaining good... have given up the struggle, and concluded that a speckled axe was best…” He states that many people who do not have the instruments for perfection that he himself wields, have found that obtaining it is too challenging, which leads to capitulation.

Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is an inspiring tale of his personal, as well as public achievement throughout his life. Franklin’s life embodies the exemplary model of a life composed of discipline, self-reliance and self improvement. From his humble beginnings as an apprentice candle and soap maker in his father’s business to a successful business man, author, philosopher, civil activist, politician scientist, inventor, and diplomat, above all Benjamin Franklin was, and still is, an American Icon and truly a pioneer of the American Dream.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most successful founding fathers of our nation and helped establish American independence from Great Britain. He was a key member in the development of the political backbone that has shaped this country into what it is today. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most humble and inspirational figures of that time. He was a major factor in the outcome of the war of Independence and in his selfless actions of leaving his family, won the help from the French to assist America in the fight against England. Although Benjamin Franklin never made it to be president he was a leader among his peers. He invented many things that we still use today such as the library, bifocals, and the postal service. He helped

The affliction of vanity appears regularly throughout both pieces of work by Franklin and Woolman. The two men seem to be hampered by this vice of pride and wishing to possess humility. Benjamin Franklin addresses this burden of appearing vain as an issue and aims to improve himself with his constituted principles. He lists “Humility” as his last virtue he aspires to develop so as to “Imitate Jesus and Socrates” (Franklin, 79). How ironic of Franklin to want to be humble, yet strive for moral perfection! Franklin so much as prides himself on this list of virtues that heavily influences his life. However, he accordingly considers pride to be one of the most difficult to overcome considering one can “disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself...” (Franklin,

The first way Benjamin Franklin attempted to become perfect was he listed character traits that contributed to perfectibility. He believed a person that was perfect had these specific traits. The character traits were: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. Franklin made a chart with

Brands, H.W.. The first American: the life and times of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Doubleday,

Benjamin Franklin is revered by Americans as one of its most revered and adored founding fathers. For foreigners, Benjamin Franklin became the very icon of America, not only because he was accomplished, but because he was a new man, a man that could only have been made in America. Franklin came to be seen as the embodiment of American values.

In Part 2, Franklin tells his son of his Quaker friend who questioned the author’s humility and suggests an addition to his list of virtues. Franklin, then a quasi-scientist of virtue, made a point of illustrating charts that mapped his progress in “acquir[ing] the Habitude of all these Virtues” (81). This Quaker insinuates that Franklin is too proud, which shakes the author’s hubris enough to inspire him to prove the Quaker wrong. After a mediocre effort to achieve Humility, which he could not “boast of much Success” (89), Franklin concludes that there is no harder human trait to suppress than Pride and it will inevitably show itself. Even though Benjamin’s willpower is portrayed with great

“I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man,”(Hamilton). Alexander Hamilton was a fellow founding father of Benjamin Franklin and was first secretary of the treasury. Similarly to Franklin, Hamilton was a self made man and known for his self-improvement; however, Hamilton’s plan of self-improvement was different that Franklin’s. Due to Hamilton being born a bastard, thus being of low position, he seized every opportunity to gain knowledge and a higher social rank. In The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, Franklin explains his plan for self-improvement. Franklin intentionally wants to live a life without any faults, so he lists thirteen good virtues he feels that he falls short of the mark and will try to maintain those virtues. He creates a calendar to track his progress, and starts at the first virtue the first week, then the second week he adds the second virtue.Benjamin Franklin didn’t make this plan up on the fly, he thought long and hard about how he would form the plan and his decisions affected his plan and results of the plan. The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin shows his plan having multiple uses and effects.

By becoming self aware, Benjamin Franklin is able to look at what aspects make him who he is, and choose ones that he would like to be added to his description. Franklin was able to reflect on the way he used to think and act, then take his new knowledge to form a better version of himself. Benjamin Franklin says in his eleventh paragraph, “But, on the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it…” Not only does Benjamin Franklin achieve the satisfaction of knowing himself more in depth, but from that point he is able to reflect and see how it has changed him for the