How Did Benjamin Franklin Want To Perfect Himself

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Question 2. Benjamin Franklin was a true believer in perfectibility of human beings. He lived during the Age of Reason, a time when everything was practical. Benjamin Franklin wanted to perfect himself and become an all around better person. He believed that any person, including himself, could change, but to do that he had to figure what being a good person really meant and take action to try and change. Benjamin Franklin believed that a person could change for better and that is precisely what he wanted to do himself. Franklin believed in the idea that when a human is first born they are born with a clean slate. In other words, a person is not born with good or bad intentions. He thought that just because a person had made bad decisions or didn’t have good character, did not mean that that person couldn’t change. Franklin truly wanted to perfect himself and he was a very practical man. If he didn’t think that is was possible, he bother trying to change.…show more content…
He knew that if he was going to perfect himself and become a better person, than he had to figure out what it meant to be one.Franklin discovered that a person’s character is based on their virtues, a behavior showing high moral standards. Someone who has achieved perfection is not going to make terrible decisions if they can distinguish right from wrong. Then, he figured out that how a person reacts in times of crisis is a reflection of that particular person’s character. Finally, Franklin concluded that a person’s overall character is based on their characteristics, or a typical quality belonging to a person. He came up with thirteen characteristics that he thought one had to possess to perfect themselves. Those characteristics included temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and

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