Question

Read the short excerpt from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin. "It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wish'd to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employ'd in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. 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. For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method. In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met with in my reading, I found the catalogue more or less numerous, as different writers included more or fewer ideas under the same name. Temperance, for example, was by some confined to eating and drinking, while by others it was extended to mean the moderating every other pleasure, appetite, inclination, or passion, bodily or mental, even to our avarice and ambition. I propos'd to myself, for the sake of clearness, to use rather more names, with fewer ideas annex'd to each, than a few names with more ideas; and I included under thirteen names of virtues all that at that time occurr'd to me as necessary or desirable, and annexed to each a short precept, which fully express'd the extent I gave to its meaning. These names of virtues, with their precepts, were: Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yours

Answer 1

Benjamin Franklin sought moral perfection through thirteen virtues, correlating with Aristotle's view on developing moral virtue via habit. Franklin meticulously defined each virtue with concrete precepts, advocating for habitual practice in everyday life to cultivate virtue and moral character.

Step-by-step explanation:

In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin delineates an ambitious plan to achieve moral perfection through adherence to thirteen virtues, which he carefully outlined with specific precepts for each. Franklin was persuaded that by practicing these virtues, one could develop a virtuous character, an idea that resonates with Aristotle's philosophy that moral virtues arise not by nature, but through habit. This approach underscores the importance of habituation in character development, a principle that suggests virtue stems from the repeated practice of good acts, reinforcement of right behavior, and growing acquaintance with the appropriate choice in a variety of situations.

Franklin's thirteen virtues ranged from Temperance and Silence to Justice and Humility, and they were concisely expressed with actionable precepts to guide individuals in daily life. For instance, under Temperance, Franklin instructs to "Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation." This precision in definition was aimed at improving understanding and application of virtues to foster a noble and virtuous society, reflecting a similarity to LibreTexts™ teachings on virtue ethics that stress the value of reasoning and concentration in comprehending significant human concepts like Truth, Justice, and the Good.