Journal 6

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’s plan for self-perfection was to make each of his virtues a daily habit. The virtues are temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. He started with temperance and used each of the previous virtues to help perfect the rest of them. Every time that he would make a mistake, he would make a mark in a book that he kept. Franklin started the first week by focusing on temperance, trying to keep that week clear of marks in his book. Each week he added a virtue and attempt to keep each of the virtues clear of any marks. For the virtue of order, he created a page in his book that plotted the time in his day for the things that he needed to do each day. Franklin found it extremely difficult to keep the virtue of order because time depends on other’s time as well as your own. He came to the conclusion that his plan was ineffective because many of the virtues require other people to be perfect as well as yourself. He also concluded that it was better for a man to be imperfect because a perfect person would be hated and envied.

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 think that Franklin’s plan would improve me as a person, but only if I continued to do it for the rest of my life. If I stopped, I would eventually go back to what I was before I began his plan. My top five virtues are industry, frugality, moderation, sincerity, and temperance.