Comparison Of Benjamin Franklin And Ralph Waldo Emerson

Franklin and Emerson are influential in what being self-reliant is as well as what it means to have strong beliefs and morals as an individual as well as their perspectives on nature. The two have remarkably similar writing styles and both have their own unique ideas on what a human being should be doing with their lifestyle and how they can be fulfilled within themselves and in the world around them. They each have their own morals and values that can be compared to each other, but they have different interests and ideas that influence their writing and who they really are as individuals. Franklin was a man that planned out his day and had a set schedule for himself with goals for him to accomplish that day and he made sure that each day he did something productive to avoid wasting time. Franklin had his own personal list of values that he followed, and he believed that people should have their own morals that fit into society and follow the standards of life at the time as well as stressing the importance of how important it is to have an education. Emerson believed that avoiding society's standards of living and being independent would fulfil a person more than living up to the expectations of others and that nobody could define who you are as a person. Emerson’s idea of being independent is more achievable when you start to live for yourself and not how other people expect you to live. Franklin and Emerson’s values helped them succeed in life by having a guideline for them to follow for them to be self-reliant individuals and how they can connect to their spiritual beings. There are many similarities and differences between Franklin and Emerson, such as virtues, self-reliance, and perspectives on nature. 

Franklin’s list of virtues that he created for himself to reflect upon and live by helped him to attain moral perfection within that would guide him and set boundaries for himself for things that were meaningful to him to be more self-reliant. Franklin spent most of his time on self-examination and his reasoning for his list of virtues was for him to avoid having unhealthy habits that may disrupt him physically and mentally. He stated “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.” (Franklin, Benjamin. Plan For Attaining Moral Perfection). This list contains many habits that he adapted to which led to a healthier lifestyle and becoming more self-aware of things that he abused which helped him realize that he needed to have a better mindset to attain the lifestyle that he was striving for. The list of virtues he created helped him focus on the things that were disrupting his personal growth and what was negatively impacting his life which guided him to become more independent and attain positive results that he was trying to achieve. Franklin has a much more complex routine than Emerson but it is similar in a way because Franklin wanted to find peace in himself spiritually by planning out his day and completing tasks for him to feel accomplished whereas Emerson had his own way of being more in the moment and trying to create his own values based off how he felt and not so much on how people normally would do things in society. 

Franklin grew up as a Puritan but as he became older, he then started to believe in a higher power which led him to then question his own personal beliefs. He believed that there was one God that was the creator of the universe but he did not value religion much and he believed it was better to be virtuous. Franklin respected all religions but he believed that virtue was more important and he focused on having strong morals and serving others in positive ways. Franklin wrote “I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that he made the world, and govern'd it by his Providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter. These I esteem'd the essentials of every religion; and, being to be found in all the religions we had in our country, I respected them all, tho' with different degrees of respect, as I found them more or less mix'd with other articles, which, without any tendency to inspire, promote, or confirm morality, serv'd principally to divide us, and make us unfriendly to one another.” (Franklin, Benjamin. Business, Success, and First Public Service). He believed that people did not need religion to be virtuous and he focused on trying to be as morally perfect as he could because he said it made society more humane. Franklin had the idea that people did not need to be religious to live an ethical life and he tried to prove this point of showing how having his own philosophy helped him achieve strong values and morals of his own that would guide him for personal growth. Emerson’s religious beliefs can be compared to Franklin’s because they both were focused on spiritual growth within themselves and with nature and they were very passionate about being connected to their own spiritual beings. The two were not very religious and they were more spiritual than others which allowed them to better their minds mentally as well as emotionally that led them to become more independent and self-reliant.