Benjamin Franklin has a reputation in America – and around the world – as a self-made man for having risen from indentured servitude to become a wealthy, independent man. As the founding father of the United States, Franklin's independence and industry are believed to have helped create the country we know today. However, there is much more to Franklin's behavior than many Americans know. Through his autobiography you can learn a lot of information about Franklin's character. His personal values ​​often conflicted with political ideologies and he constantly referred to moral relativism. His self-perception was occasionally distorted, but sometimes coincided with others' perceptions of him. As an international celebrity, it appears that Benjamin Franklin saw himself as a strong and superior leader to whom the moral law did not always apply, yet his morality prevails as one of his strongest legacies. It is possible that, simply by working to become the celebrity of (perhaps false) moral perfection that America still celebrates, Benjamin Franklin is truly a self-made man, actively working to shape his identity in terms of reputation and morality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, Franklin's moral ambiguity is at times disturbing. While he later preaches moral perfection to others, he himself is deficient in that area; he has affairs with married women (whose husbands are nothing less than his friends), abandons his brother while he is in prison, and commits many other petty crimes, especially as a young man. However, Franklin is very rarely tried for these crimes, because he reworks these events into a justifiable narrative for himself. For example, Franklin abandons a vegetarian diet, which he embarked on for moral reasons, and defends himself for it. I balanced for some time between Principle and Inclination: until I remembered that when the Fishes were opened, I saw smaller Fishes taken from their stomachs Then, I thought, if you eat each other, I don't see why we couldn't eat you . So I ate cod with great gusto and continued to eat with other people, only occasionally returning to a plant-based diet. Being a reasonable creature is such a convenient thing, as it allows you to find or find a reason for everything you plan to do. (Franklin 37) For Franklin, principle tends to wither in the face of inclination, because, in his view, inclination can be justified with the right amount of rhetorical work; because Franklin is intelligent and cunning, he seems to be able to construct an argument in favor of any choice he may make. Its principles are actually very weak. Franklin tends to argue without having any real moral positions. In his essay Historicus, Franklin takes a lenient position against slavery, but quickly retreats from this position so as not to anger anyone; he ends the essay on a whiny note of neutrality rather than with a proud and solid argument for real beliefs, however it may rest. Even in his Autobiography he supports the good of female education, but not for the reasons one would expect. It doesn't necessarily support the business; rather, he states, “I took the opposite side, perhaps somewhat for the sake of controversy” (Franklin 19). When he makes an argument based on a strong position, it seems to be for himself, as in his “The Letter Z Petition,” in which he criticizes the man who attempts to replace him; Franklin's self-indulgent nature and favoring of his own dilemmas over those of society are clear in the way he writeson these topics. Man gives himself whatever gratification is necessary, then worries about justifying his actions later, regardless of how he might affect society as a whole with his moral relativity. Despite only caring about matters that concern himself, Franklin works to ensure others' adherence to a moral code.as well as using himself as a sort of example, in some ways. His created superiority over others may function to shame them, thus creating Franklin's externally perceived superiority over others as well. Franklin wishes to observe any wrongdoings of his friends and correct them immediately. When he notices that Ralph tends to favor Franklin's writing over Osbourne's, Franklin devises a scheme to switch his writing with Osbourne's, thus catching Ralph in the lie he creates (Franklin 39). Ironically, what Ralph does is similar to what Franklin does. Ralph appreciates what seems good based on its author, Franklin, or the celebrity and importance placed on it. Franklin evaluates what appears to be good based on how it will affect him rather than how it actually holds to a moral code. Franklin's criticism of others based on this offense and exemption of himself under the same code demonstrates that Franklin does not recognize himself as violating the rules he creates, or lives by a very loose interpretation of morality. It seems very likely that Franklin simply believes himself to be above such rules, as his writings often indicate his belief that he is superior to others. He mocks the workers at the new printing house where he works, demonstrating his place above them, saying: “I only drank Water; the other workers, about 50 in number, were big beer drinkers. Sometimes I carried up and down the stairs a large form of lettering in each hand, while the others carried only one in both hands. They wondered to see from this and several instances that the Water-American, as they called me, was stronger than them who drank strong beer” (Franklin 45). Franklin claims superiority over these new acquaintances not only in physical strength, but also in the value of hard work and sobriety. Although Franklin never claims to be sober from alcohol, he lets it be known at this time because it benefits his image with the public by placing him in a position to reign over other less perfect individuals. Maybe if Franklin emphasizes his perfection enough, the masses will believe it. Franklin directly attempts to shape the minds of others as well, taking it upon himself to educate the public and teach them the laws of goodness; In this way he assumes an almost divine position, determining the rules of the game himself. Throughout his career, he states, "[...] I tried to prepare the minds of the people by writing on the subject in the newspapers, which was my usual habit in such cases [...]" (Franklin 115). His need to change people shows that he is unhappy with society's position in its overall "goodness", but only superficially recognizes that it may be the cause. It was around this time that I conceived the bold and arduous project of achieving moral perfection. I would like to live without committing any sin at any time; I would like to conquer everything to which natural inclination, habit or company could lead me. Since I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I didn't see why I couldn't always do one and avoid the other. (Franklin 78). Even though Franklin supposedly attempts to live in moral perfection, he still takes a position as a divine figure. First, he claims to believe that he arbitrarily knows good and evil,.