Reflection of Franklin's Autobiography

Benjamin Franklin's autobiography represents the growing rationalism in this era.  Benjamin Franklin was very rational in his writing and thoughts to maintain his virtues.  He made rational virtues to follow, he made a organized and logical way to make sure he followed these virtues, and he explained his reasoning behind making these virtues and why they should be valued.  There is a clear connection between the rationalist value and life that is in Franklin's writings.  

Franklin's virtues show a great amount of rationalist values.  Some examples would be temperance, silence, and order (Franklin 83).  These are just a few examples from the text, but they show rational thinking very well.  Rational means to be logical, reasonable, or sensible.  Rational values seem to make sense.  Rational values are easy to explain and see why they are necessary.  The values Franklin chose make sense in why they should be followed.  Temperance is important because it is important not to be greedy (Franklin 83).  This is a rational virtue because it will make the world a better place for you and others by not taking more than you deserve.  Silence is logical because people should know when their opinion is necessary (Franklin 83).  If you speak out of turn, than you only create unneeded problem.  Order is also another very rational virtue because if there is no order to the world and nobody knows their rightful place, there will be chaos (Franklin 83).  These rational virtues show that Franklin rights with rationalism in mind.

Franklin's system of following his virtues in his life also prove him to be a rationalist.  He made a very organized chart with his virtues and days of the week (Franklin 85).  He would put a dot down on the day and by the virtue if he were to fault in following his virtues.  He tried to go at least a week without having to put a dot down on his chart (Franklin 86).  This was a very organized and rational approach to how he should follow his virtues and make sure he follows them correctly.  He also had an effective way of re-using his chart and this is another small way he is logical and rational.  This chart kept him following his rational values in a very logical way.  This is a big demonstration of his rationalist attitude in his writing.

The reasoning behind each virtue also makes Franklin's rational reasoning appear in his writing.  When Franklin lists his virtues, he explains what he means by each value.  For example, Franklin has the virtue of moderation.  Franklin writes: "MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve." (Franklin 83).  This value is easy to understand because Franklin makes the reasoning behind the virtue clear in his writing.  Obviously, Franklin made the reason behind it logical.  

Therefore, Franklin kept his virtues clearly reasonable and his method for following them clear.  He explained each virtue, he had an effective way to keeping his virtues in check, and he made a rational decision when deciding on a virtue to follow.  Franklin was truly rational in his writing.

Franklin, Benjamin, Dixon Wecter, Larzer Ziff, and Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1959. 81+. Print.