Final answer:
Benjamin Franklin's perspective on moral perfection adapted over time, acknowledging individual responsibility for virtue and public service, regardless of wealth. His virtues align with Enlightenment values of self-improvement and rationality, contributing to the concept of republican virtue.
Step-by-step explanation:
Over time, Benjamin Franklin's perspective on moral perfection evolved. Initially, his thirteen virtues suggested that success was the result of hard work and good behavior. However, Franklin's philosophy might not have fully acknowledged the complexities of socio-economic realities such as inheritance and privilege. Though Franklin himself became wealthy through his career and then turned to philanthropy, his deist beliefs emphasized personal morality over strict church doctrines, indicating that he valued individual moral compasses leading to good works.
Regarding situations where children inherit wealth rather than working for it, Franklin might have believed that wealth did not absolve one from the responsibility of personal development or public service, which are central to the idea of republican virtue. Additionally, the continual moral inquiry and advancement mentioned in Hegelian Dialectic implies that moral maturity is an open-ended process, and virtues could be cultivated regardless of one's socio-economic standing.
Franklin's values contribute to the notion of republican virtue by promoting behaviors that align with the welfare of the republic, suggesting that virtue is integral to self-governance and the common good. In the context of broader ethical philosophies such as Kant’s Kingdom of Ends and Evolutionary Ethics, Franklin’s approach to moral perfection reflects the Enlightenment era's focus on rationality, self-improvement, and the inherent value of individuals.