Journal 6- Franklin

                                                            Name: Brian Cadden

Journal #6

From Ben Franklin’s The Autobiography (p. 80 – 83)

Write a well-developed paragraph in response to the following questions.

1. Explain what was involved in Franklin’s plan for self-perfection?   What conclusion did Franklin come to regarding the effectiveness of this plan?

Franklin planned to perfect himself by strengthening the 13 virtues that were in his opinion the road to self-perfection. In order to do this he would attempt each week to focus on one virtue and not to stray from the path. The logic of this plan was that each week he would strengthen each of the individual virtues until eventually he had mastered them all. Franklin felt that even though he had not completely succeeded the exercise in “self-examination” had benefited his character and he hoped his descendants would follow his example in future.

2. Do you feel that a plan such as Franklin’s would improve you as a person?  Why or why not?  What would be your top five virtues? 

I feel like a plan such as Franklin’s would not be able to improve me as a person, mainly because all too often we overlook our own faults. I believe that if I were to be grading myself on my own virtues I may end up overlooking many of my failures and subsequently not improve due to this. Rather, I believe the exercise instead helps to stop bad habits but not truly change the personality of someone.

My top five virtues would be:

1. Compassion
2. Justice
3. Honesty
4. Peace
5. Intellect