Wednesday, October 31, 2012

A Virtuous Life

READ THIS FIRST:
For this blog response, I would like you to speak some truth! You MUST first answer my questions; be thorough, show depth and use Franklin's text to support your assertions. I would like you to write a critical question at the end of your response. I expect you to respond to at least one other person's post and question.
Do not give me just one sentence...write with some heart and conviction. Write what is real to you.

1. What virtue on Franklin's list do you think is most important? What virtue do you think people need to improve upon?
2. How do we learn what it means to live "right"?  
3. What virtues must you attain to live a "good" life? Do you practice these?
4. What drives you to improve (if you seek this idea)? Will we ever be satisfied?

63 comments:

  1. 1)I believe that Ben Franklin's second virtue is the most important, stating that only speak in a manner that benefits you or others but I believe that this is also one of the ones that we need to work on the most relevance and keeping on track cause a very beneficial surrounding 2)Through our parents and surrounding when we are young is where we learn what doing the right thing is. Our parents are our teachers from right and wrong. 3)To be happy is one of the best virtues to attain in order to live a good life. If you are miserable all your life then you are living wrong. 4)The ideal life and achieving happiness is what drives me to improve myself and the only way i will truly be satisfied when I have lived a good and happy life. Do you believe that some of franklin's virtues are outdated in our society or are they eternal?

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    1. I feel like it's not always your parents or teachers teaching you what is right. We have to learn some of it our self through life experiences. I feel like some of Franklin's virtues are outdated for modern times. Like the one about Jesus not everyone is religious stuff like this is outdated and true for some people but not for others.

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    2. I agree that being happy is a great virtue to have, but I don't necessarily agree with the second part of that statement. Being unhappy is all relative. If you read this before tomorrow, what is your perspective of "miserable"? Also, in regards to your question, I believe that most of his virtues are way outdated, but a few of them still apply

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    3. Keenan, I agree with most of the statements that you made. However, I disagree with what you said in your answer to the third question. I agree with what Michael said about being happy. I do think that happiness is a good way to live, but I am not sure that you are living wrong if you are "miserable". First off, there are people who live every day in agony and depression who perfectly enjoy their lives. There are many musicians who are very depressed and sad who are incredibly successful and love what they do. Why do you think that minor keys exist?? And lastly, Are you living wrong if you have a bad time in your life? Everyone has ups and downs, so are you saying that during all of our downs, we should believe that we are living wrong? I think that the only virtue that may need a spark of an update is Humility. (The one about Jesus and Socrates) I believe this because there are so many religions in this world today.

      Should everyone have the same basic virtues or different ones?

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  2. 1. I think the second virtue "Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation." is the most important virtue. It's saying to only speak of stuff that will benefit people. Don't be cocky and think of yourself as better than others. Try to benefit everyone and be kind to them.
    2. We must learn how to live right by experience. To do what you think is the best for humanity. Try to live life in a great way and just being a good person.
    3. The virtues that you must attain to live a good life our being kind, hard working, generous, happy, and try to live life how you want to.
    4. We will never be satisfied in live. We always will try to improve and be better. Sure we can always be happy but the whole point in life is improvement. Making life better for the next generation.
    If you could add any virtues what would you add?

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    1. I agree with most of what you have to say and in response to your question i would like to add the virtue of living life to your fullest without endangering others P.S. Jack says waddup HOME GUUUUUUUUUUURL Mrs. Comp

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  3. "Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions." This is the virtue that i think is most important on Franklin's list. i think more people need to work on " Order, let all your things have their places;let each part of your business have its time." I think we learn to live right by just living life and not letting things mess it up. i think that this virtue is what you have to attain to live the good life, "Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions." I practice this sometimes. Failure drives me to improve because i know i messed up so i try to make it better. i dont think i will ever be satisfied.

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  5. 1)The most important virtue on Franklin's list is the fifth one. I think this because it is basically saying that you should be nice to others and respect yourself. When I say respect yourself it means some different things like take all the opportunities you can to make yourself better and believe in yourself to do whatever you want to do. I think that people need to improve on this virtue because if you look around in the word people can at least treat each other with more respect than they do.
    2)We learn what it means to live right from examples around us. From when we are very young we are being taught mostly by our parents what right and wrong is.
    3)Some virtues that I think everyone should live by are treat others with respect and work hard for what you want.
    4)What drives me to improve is thinking about the end result at whatever I am striving for. I think that people can be satisfied if they don't always try to be better than the next guy. I know that is very hard to do because every one always wants to be the best at whatever they do.
    Can anyone live by all of Franklin's virtues? If someone did would they be perfect?

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    1. I don't think that it is possible to live by all of his virtues. I think that he has set goals for us to reach for, but never actually attain. If someone did achieve all of these virtues they still wouldn't be perfect. There are so many more virtues, that we have as humans, that it wouldn't be humanly possible to achieve perfection.

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    2. I agree with Derek because people as a whole need to help the community, on a global scale and a neighborhood scale. I think people should set goals and strive for the life Franklin lived, but it would be very difficult to maintain them all. And nobody is perfect, everybody has something to work on. As Salvador Dali once said, "Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it."

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    3. or this quote by Vince Lombardi. "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

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    4. Living off of Franklin's virtues is good to do but no body is perfect, even if they obide by all the virtues. There are so many other virtues that we have on our own, no one can be perfect.

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  6. 1. What virtue on Franklin's list do you think is most important? What virtue do you think people need to improve upon?
    I believe that out of all of the virtues listed, sincerity is the most important virtue, at least to me. I believe this for anything that is said with sincerity, good or bad, is their true feelings. When you say something with sincerity or with sincerity as the motive for your actions, you are being honest, which to me is a very important characteristic. I also believe that sincerity is a virtue that we need to work on as a society. In general, I would say that especially my generation, has grown to be insincere. We are only saying things for the purpose of saying them, not with any real purpose or meaning behind the words being said.
    2. How do we learn what it means to live "right"?
    In order for us to learn how to live “right”, we become influenced by a person we respect, or view as an authority figure. In the early stages of someone’s life, I would generally say that this would be your parents, uncles, aunts, etc. However as a person grows older they begin to develop the ability to view the entirety of the world. When this occurs, people begin to find people that they can look up to. Once you find the people who influence you, you begin to decipher what is right, based on the actions, motives and comments that come from this person. You base what is right on what you r influential idol deems correct.
    3. What virtues must you attain to live a "good" life? Do you practice these?
    There are no set virtues. In fact, I would say that the only virtues that your need to attain to live a “good life” is based on what you see as a good life. Nearly every person would say that their version of a “good life” is different. Because on this, there is no one set of virtues that must be attained. For myself I would say that I must be sincere, have humility, be orderly, be able to be silent, and stand firm in the name of justice.
    4. What drives you to improve (if you seek this idea)? Will we ever be satisfied?
    I am driven to improve by the idea that people are watching me. Everything I do and say is sent out and if I am not saying and doing things that I believe are honorable and correct, I am only hurting myself. I do not think that as a society we will ever be fully satisfied. For as long as humans have existed we have wanted to be better, to be better people. This has not stopped, and I doubt that it will ever.
    What characteristics do we associate with a person that has humility? Does this make the person a better person? Why?

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    1. I agree on how our generation needs to improve on our sincerity. Some girls act fake when they are being "nice" to a person, while some boys will just flat out speak their thoughts of someone in front of the person. Also, with exercises like this, people just write things they don't mean just to get it done and to get credit.

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    2. I believe as a person someone that attains the virtue humility is someone that has been through a lot. Someone who has had many personal life experiences that has changed this person for the better. Someone who takes things people say as a "joke" and knows even though it may have been offensive it will never bring them down. A person that could have the worst day possible and be able to come home to their friends and family and leave it all behind them.

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  7. 1) I think that Benjamin Franklin's eleventh virtue is most important. "Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable." There are some things in life that aren't worth your time or worth sweating. Things will happen, realize that it probably happens to everybody else too. I have been told not to make excuses for myself because there are other people who are going through what I am, and other people who feel the same way about certain situations as I do. As I feel this virtue is most important, people need to improve upon it as well.

    2) I think we learn how to live "right" by just living normally. People make mistakes, it doesn't mean they don't know how to live right, it's just helping them to see that they aren't always perfect. People learn and grow from making mistakes, and the right way to live is by moving on.

    3) I believe that the virtues to attain a "good life" depends on the way a person was raised, or what that person believes in. For me, the "good life" would be attaining Tranquility, Silence, Order, Industry, and Justice. I try to practice these virtues. I'm never going to be perfect and use them all the time, I will make mistakes and say something wrong or overreact to something.

    4) The idea of doing something so much more for not only myself, but for others drives me to improve, however, I, along with many others, will never be satisfied. Nobody can ever follow all the virtues at the same time, there are people who wouldn't be able to handle themselves.

    What makes a person want to become so perfect or pure that they would go through all the trouble of pleasing others?

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    1. I agree with you ashley on the 2 question we as people need to move on with the mistakes we do. But how do we move on?

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    2. To me, I think pleasing others and making others happy first is more important that making myself happy. A person doesn't have to be 'perfect' or 'pure' to make someone happy. Whatever you have to give to someone is all they could ever ask for. Also, I wouldn't ever want to become perfect just to please someone. I can only give them my all.

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  8. 1. Out of all the virtues listed by Franklin I believe that order is the most important to me. I believe that everything should have its own place. By keeping everything organized it makes finding the smallest of things simple. I believe that people need to improve on this virtue because all around us today are examples not being organized and struggling to find something that they have misplaced.
    2. We learn what it means to be right by observing our parents and other peers at a young age. As we grow up we gain a perspective that we are never shown as a kid. Most kids today have "idols" that they look up to and I believe that those people ultimately influence the actions of many.
    3. In my opinion there are no set of rules that help you attain a "good" life. Most people have their own definition of the term "good" life. In my opinion I believe that I should have order, resolution, sincerity, and silence.
    4. I'm driven everyday by those around me and by my family. The work I do today shapes my future and by doing more and getting better at things will set me up to succeed in my near future. As a society we will never be satisfied because there will always be something or someone that comes along and will change peoples opinions for the good or bad.

    Do Franklins virtues show up in our everyday life? If so how many are seen?

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    1. I think that there are a few virtues that show up in our daily life such as the virtue of humility, however, I don't think many of them are seen. Many of these virtues I feel like are internal, therefore, they are maybe not seen as much.

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    2. I agree that order is important in our society, but I feel like some "orders" make us think too simple and not let our creative minds work. How do we know if something is misplaced?

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  9. 1. I would have to say that the 7th one is the most important. It says to be sincere or to have sincerity. To be truthful and not to judge one another but to love and respect one another. I think people need to improve on being sincere or to have sincerity. With the elections taking place and disagreement that occur daily I think people need to have respect for one another and show true love towards one another no matter what one may believe.

    2. How we learn what to know it right is by the people we look up to. People who influence our lives set a example on how we should live ours. One person right could be another’s wrong it just depends on the view point or person they follow.

    3. Following those virtues wont give a person a "good life" Yeah there good rules to follow but everyone screws up and they wont make you have a good life. Personally my faith make me have a "good life" knowing that there is hope gives me a good life.

    4. If i were to pick a virtue that I would want to "master" then it would be sincerity because it not only builds character but your being honest and caring for others. That’s how I would want others to treat me. My loved ones drive me. The people who care about me or who i care about drive me. To be a good example for others who make or may not look up to me.

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  10. critical thinking questin: Can a person really master these virtues?

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    1. I think that someone may attempt to live up to all these virtues but in reality we are all human. We make mistakes, we let our temper get the best of us at time and we make impulse decisions. Yes someone can follow them for the most part but they will never be able to master all of them. But I do believe that if someone dedicated their life to master one virtue I believe they could do it. They would be constantly focused on it and want to embody it in every aspect for their life. Franklin says “My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues” but then he later goes on to discuss that I would be much easier to focus on each one separately.

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    2. I dont really think that a person would ever be able to fully master the virtues because other peers will always be judging and provoking a person to turn away from their virtues. If someone was ever going to master the virtues, then i feel like they would only be able to master the virtue in their own mind.

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  11. 1. i think that the most important viture on franklins list is silence. people need to stop talking so much about nothing. if you just sit back and watch all the people who talk a lot you will find very interesting things about them, some that you would have ever known.some people talk so much that they miss out on things because they can never be quiet. many people who talk to much miss out on everything because they can never let anyone else talk.

    2. i think that know one can truly know what it means to live "right" because every one has a different meaning of living "right". my meaning of living "right" is just chill an on the beach in a tank top and some dockers shorts. To others it might be a completely different meaning.

    3.i don't think that you would any vitures to live a "good life" because you can be anyone and live a "good life". if you want to live a better life than you should practice or live by those virtues.

    4.what drive me to do my best is the rewards that you get when you get to that goal and i think anyone can be satisfied if you think it. the only thing that gives you satisfaction in this life is how you act to situations.

    would living by these virtues ever make some one happy or can they improve someones life?

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    1. I don't believe that these virtues would necessarily make someone happy but I could personally see that they could improve someones life. If someone would live by the order virtue I believe that it would help them to become a very organized person along with having the common courtesy to put thing back where they belong.

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    3. I agree with you that silence is the most important virtue because people just think that they can just say anything and not worry about how others react or respond to what they said. If we all just were silent when we want to say something rude or offensive to someone it might cut some violence out the world.

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  12. 1. Sincerity is the most important virtue on Franklin's list. It says "Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly." This basically is saying think before you speak. In our country, we have elections and different religions and different views on how we see the world. Some people speak their mind, which may offend people who disagree. Basically, this virtue says we should speak without bias and not offend others.
    A virtue people need to improve on is Humility. This virtue says "Imitate Jesus and Socrates." There is a lot of talent in schools and everyday lives. Sometimes, this can get to peoples heads, causing them to show off and in some celebrity's cases, due stupid things just because they are famous and popular.

    2. We learn to live "right" by our parents or some authority figure around us that we look up to. Growing up your parents probably told you "No" when you did or said something wrong, which will probably help you for the time that you live at home. But what happens after that? This is probably when people begin to learn from their own mistakes as they go through life.

    3. The virtues that will help you live a "good life" are most likely the ones that will keep you out of conflict like silence, frugality, sincerity, justice, moderation and tranquility. I try to practice these so I can avoid fights with others. If I do happen to fight with somebody, these can help me resolve the conflict.

    4. The people I look up to help me strive to improve, are my parents and my friends. Seeing others succeed inspires me to accomplish my goals. I don't think any body will ever be fully satisfied. Some may not be able to finish life goals and peoples will always have regrets whether big or small.

    If anybody does live by all of Franklin's virtues, does it make them a better person?

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  13. 1. I believe that virtue number 5, frugality, is the most important virtue. It states, "Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing." I believe this is important because everything in life should have a purpose; activities and actions shouldn't have to be done, they should be a step towards improving yourself or the people around you. You should set goals to either help the community or yourself, as long as it's a step forward. The virtue we need to improve upon the most is sincerity. It states, "Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly." People should respect each other more and also work on their frugality. In a society where all men are created equal, no man is treated as such.

    2. We learn through experience and the surroundings we grow up in. Our everyday actions are judged by the people around us; at school, at home, or anywhere in public. Then again, as young children, we were either disciplined for our actions or our actions were ignored, because we didn't know any better or we were not raised to do so. Our peers can also shape our virtues. If a child is bullied at school, he/she will obviously have different virtues than the kid that bullies him/her. Everywhere we go our virtues can be defined, changed or deleted.

    3. I believe that the Golden rule is one obvious virtue that everyone should practice. Other virtues I use are cleanliness and temperance, but the most important virtue I practice is frugality. I try to become a better person through everything I do: school, sports, and hobbies. All of my actions I do, I try to make it best for the community or myself.

    4. The thought of what I can do with what I have, waking up every day and trying to make a difference for myself and the people around me. That's what drives me. Enjoying life while helping others. No matter what, mankind will always want more, which can be good and bad. The good part is that we constantly set goals for ourselves, always trying to improve and make the world a better place for everybody. The bad part is that this can drive people to do bad things. For example, rob a bank for greed.

    How can making a difference in the community benefit the community as a whole? If everybody changed and adopted good virtues, how would that shape our society now and for generations to come?

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  14. 1- I think that the most important virtue is Sincerity. I think that people can be unintentionally mean and if people were to think about what they were saying then they could easy retain more relationships. Relationships play a key role in someone’s everyday life and how they react to situations based on the healthiness of the relationship these people share. I also believe this one is the one that people need to improve upon the most. Society these days is extremely rude and I believe that people need to start being more sincere to one another.
    2- To live right I believe depends on each individuals own moral code that they live by. Everyone is going to have a different view on this therefore their version of living ‘right’ will be different. For example I think that one part of living right is to be kind to one another and accept people rather than judge them.
    3- I believe in order to live a good life one must respect those around them. It doesn’t matter if that happens to a child, parent or a complete stranger; I believe you must show your respect to everyone. One other thing that is critical for a good life is to follow number 11 tranquility. I think that is important just by the simple message of don’t sweat the small stuff.
    4- A dream I have to be successful drives me. It makes me push myself and strive for a good future. I think the unnecessary want for more things and better things will never let us be satisfied. We will always strive for more and our greed will always keep us wanting the next new thing.

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  16. Is there a set of virtues everyone should live by or should everyone make and live by their own?

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  17. 1) The most important virtue to me is resolution. I always say don't start something you cant finish. In life a job half done is worthless. You don't mow half you law, wash only part of your car. Finish what you start. This is very important and shows disciplined in people. Having the patients to take the time to get the job done has a huge role in my life. #dontstartsomethingyoucan'tfinish

    2)In the early years of our lives we are told what is right and what is wrong. it is very black and white. Stealing is stealing, fighting is fighting and such. Later in life we all are influenced by "role models" both bad and good. We have our parents to tell us their opinion our teachers, and our friend. However I think that we all make our own dissensions.

    3) A good life is a happy one. I don't care if i make 20,000 dollars a year as long as im happy and enjoy myself then that is a good life. I think that people are too uptight about what path to follow in life.

    4)I like to win and I hate to lose. What drives me is to be the best. At what ever I do striving to be the best. I believe in living unsatisfied. Always wanting more from my self. In any thing I do not just sports.

    Critical question: What makes you want to be great? Everyone want their name to be remembered. What can virtue is the most important to achieve this?

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    1. I kind of disagree with the "Everyone wants their name to be remembered." part of this question. Personally, I don't want to be the greatest or have my name remembered all around the world. Having a specific virtue to reach fame doesn't mean much to me.

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  18. I think that the most important of Franklin's virtues would be number 13. I think it is very important for people to strive to be like Jesus in particular but I guess Socrates works too. They both lived fairly simple lives, not much drama. I think that this is important because if people do not try to live like this, the world would be very chaotic. I think that people need to work on number 10. Many people are very messy and this can interfere with your life. It can also interfere with work. For instance, if you have a messy backpack, you will lose your homework. This will cause a bad grade and that starts the whole chain of events.

    I believe that we get our perspective of what is "wrong" or "right" from the people we hang out with. If we see someone who we think is cool or nice, we are going to act like them because we think that it is the right way to be. We can also see what is "right" from examining our own mistakes. When we see the consequences of our mistakes, we learn not to do that again, therefore, finding out the right way to do it. Finding out these things may also come from authorities.

    Honestly, I do not think anyone knows what virtues are needed to live a "good" life because no one has truly lived a good life. No person is perfect, therefore, we do not know what it looks like to live a good life. We will only figure out what a good life really is when we are in heaven.

    One of the main things that drives me to improve is competition. I cannot go one minute in my life without trying to best someone or beat them. Knowing that I am not the best at something pushes me to my limits, always trying to get to the point where i can consider myself better than the other person. Although this pushes me to improve, I do not think that we will ever be satisfied. Have you ever wanted something so bad that you thought once you get it your life will be complete? Once you get that one special thing, you feel content... for about 15 minutes. Then you realize that there is something better and you move on to that and say it will make you complete. The truth is there is always something or someone better out there and you have a void in your heart that cannot be filled with earthly things.

    Critical Question: How much, if any, does Franklin's virtues effect todays world?

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  20. 1. The most important virtue is Humility. I believe this because our society is so cruel to one and other. As a society we haven't taken a turn for the worst. When I was younger my parents always told me saying "Oh my god" was a bad word and that I should never use it in public. Now you cant go anywhere out in public without hearing this statement at least two times. I believe kids in this society have less respect for their parents and peers. People constantly joke around but don't even notice that their statement may have hurt the other person. I live my life by telling myself "don't let anyone put you down", this helps me always remember whatever someone says to me doesn't change who I am. The virtue I think that needs to be changed or improved is Order. This virtue could be changed into something more significant rather then just time management. I believe there is something else behind the word order, which causes a person to figure out how to manage their lives. I believe you can add something to the meaning of order to make it more significant in our modern society.

    2. I believe we learn what it means to live "right" mostly from our parents. When we were younger, we would make mistakes and our parents would tell us that what we did was bad and would face the consequence. Based on this as we grow up we know doing things known as being "bad" could get us in trouble and that we should stray away from the bad and towards the good. I believe it also has to do with a lot of personal experiences. As we grow up we are always told certain things are bad but we are always curious enough to try it anyways and this trial and error is what make a person better. I feel like the saying "What does kill you makes you stronger" works well here. Our personal experiences in life is what shapes and makes us who we are today.

    3. Do you practice these? I honestly don't think people have set virtues that they believe they must follow. I believe that it is left up to ourselves to figure out how we want to live our lives. People live their lives very differently. I believe its all about personal perseverance to how far we get in life and if we live a "good" life. If you set your standards high it will make it a lot harder to achieve, but if your standards are lower, you will have a better chance of being happy with the life you were given.

    4. As a person I am always pushing myself to bigger and better things. I always take the mistakes I have made in my life and take it as a plus. A loss can only make you stronger. As an athlete, I make my body do things others can only imagine of. My muscles could be so tired that I could barley stand but still be able to finish the workout my coach has set for us to achieve. Setting goals for myself to achieve helps me a lot. This is true for me in life also. I always tell myself to do things and this is what pushes me to keep my grades up and be as social of a person as I could be. I may seem like a social kid but when I first entered the high school setting I was scared and did not know how to approach things. All the experiences since have made me a better person and I am proud of it. Answering the question of will you ever be satisfied. I believe it is possible if you set you goals low enough. You could be living on the streets and be the happiest person alive. It is all based on your push to make yourself improve as a person.

    Critical Question: How do we improve as a person? What causes us to become this better person?

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    1. Tyler I agree with you on the fact that parents are a huge factor to when it comes to learning what is “right”. As a kid we learn a lot and try to understand a lot and our parents are the ones that we ask our questions to. Plus our parents also teach us what is “right” by example.
      To answer your question I believe that a drive to be the best is what pushes us to become better. I believe that this drive is what makes games competitive and life interesting. This drive is why people get up in the morning because without this drive people wouldn’t care what happened and that would make for a very dull and pointless world.

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  21. 1. The most important virtue is “Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e, waste nothing.” number five of Franklin’s virtues because you should always do the best you can for yourself and others. I think people need to improve on this virtue because some people in this world are mean and don’t help others when everyone should want to help each other.

    2. Your childhood is the beginning of your life and something you can’t forget. How you grow up and what kind of parents you have or grandparents, they tell you as you are growing up what is right and wrong.

    3. Living a “good” life is different for everyone. For me its to be in the state and country I’m in and have the friends and family I have. It depends on the way you were raised and what your parents said was good and what was not.

    4. Everyone has room to improve and be a better person. My family and friends and coaches drive me to improve in everything I do. No one will ever be satisfied in this world but everyone can improve at something everyday.


    If you live off of Franklin’s virtues are you a happier and better person? What is the best virtue to live by?

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    1. You make great points but since you're born as a child and shown by family and close ones how to live how are you to know whether they are right or wrong? Or simply that's what we are taught out of ignorance?

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    2. Maggs i agree with you because when you are younger you always get told what is right and what is wrong and you hang on to what you learned as a kid for the rest of your life.

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    3. I would think sincerity would be the best virtue to live by because if you are honest with yourself and everyone else then you shouldn't have a whole lot of problems.

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    4. You are not a happier and better person just because you live off of Franklins virtues. What makes you a good person is your own virtues and what you believe. The best virtue to live by is different for all but for me it would be silence. Its better to listen than to be heard.

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  22. I think that the most important resolution is Resolution. By resolving many of the problems in your life you can live more contently. Festering over past problems and disputes can create a lot of unnecessary anger in your life.

    The virtue that I think people need more of in their life is Moderation. I personally work at Cici's Pizza and the amounts of pizza some people eat is unholy. They fill their faces with so much food that that it makes me sick to watch them. But I think that is true with many other things in our lives. Bigger is better. However, I think moderation could solve a lot of problems in the US of A.

    To a certain extent you need all of them. Surely you cannot have Justice and Order without silence, resolution, and temperance. For others to judge you as a good person you truly do need all of them. For people do not see the virtues you have, but instead focus on what you lack

    I am driven to improve these by my own self conscience. Its impossible to quite. I see others who silence their self conscience die a little bit inside every time.

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    1. i agree kyle. if people just trust there little voice that tells them the diffrence between right and worng everyone might be happier. or a little more tolreable to live with.

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  23. To me Franklin's 11th virtue seems most important to me. Tranquility among people seems hard to find nowadays (no matter how old I sound) it's true. Not just an individual or a handful of people need to practice this virtue but almost everyone needs to. There is so much hatred, too many killings, crimes, etc. If everyone showed someone at least the slightest bit of respect and care I believe others would pay it forward, causing everyone to maybe join in. In order to live right you need to live by YOUR standards and no one else's. If you do what you believe is right, you live a life you're proud of and not afraid to show or leave this earth as your marking you truly lived right. For me, my fear of leaving this life without anything good to show for it keeps me from choosing wrong or harming others. I try everyday to become a better person, to be there for someone who needs it, that's what keeps me on track and what drives me to improve my life.

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  24. 1. I think that the most important virtue is "frugality"; make no expense but to do good to others or yourself. That pretty much means to waste nothing. I think there is room for improvement on the virtue because many people these days just spend spend spend on crud they don't really need and they need to be more frugal about what is a need, and what is a want.
    2. We learn what it means to live "right" by what our parents and authority figures do. As kids we looked up to them and they were our role models for the "right" life.
    3.I think that all the virtues shall be some what attained in order to live a "right" life. I personally try to practice all of the virtues but as a human i am not perfect and it is hard to always practice the virtues perfectly.
    4. What drives me to improve is competition. I love the feeling when you know you won and you have improved. I dont think people in the unitesd states will ever be satisified because with new technology coing out daily, people will always be jealous and unsatisified with their lives.

    If the United States was more like china and Korea, not knowing about the outside world and being uniform, would the citizens be more satisified?

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  25. 1) The virtue I belive that is most important on Franklins list is Industry. I believe this is important because he says that you should always be doing/working on something, and never wasting your time. What people need to work most upon is sincerity, because I believe that if people worked on this our world would become a much better place because people wouldnt be talking so badly about eachother.

    2) How we learn what is living right is by people we see everyday. Most importantly that's our parents. They always tell us how they feel, what they believe is right and wrong. But also where we hear it is from our friends. We usually see our good friends almost everyday and that to has an impact on what we believe.

    3) I believe the virtues needed to live a good life are simple. I believe that they are to work your hardest, be respectful of others, and appriciate things you do. Working your hardest is definetly important because it would make people feel better about themselves and other things. Respecting others is very important because everybody deserves respect. And lastly, apreciating things you do will open many peoples eyes to what is going on around them.

    4) What drives me to improve is when I either do something wrong, or do something I am not proud of. I do not believe that we will ever be satisfied with things we do but I believe that even though we may not be satisfied, we can be happy.

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  26. 1. I think the virtue that is most important is resolution. this is because people now of days dont care about anyone but themselve. when people have been freinds for year dont resolve things becacause they have to much pride. peoples should work on humilty because if people are willing to ssay im sorry then people can have more resolution.

    2. i think living by a moral code is how to do what is "right". we need to make up our own virtues to decided how we personaly are going to live . no one creates who you are you have to build yourself.

    3. i personaly think you need tranquilty, resolution, and humility. this would leed to a more perfect union and may also leed to a better world.
    4.i dont think anyone is ever truely satisfied. people go throughdiffrent stages in life to satisfie themselves. truth is life is just something you cant change and i think people would be happier if they cared a little less.

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  27. 1. I think the virtue of resolution is the most important because I was brought up on the idea of setting goals and I believe those goals are worthless unless you really set out to complete them. I think people really need to improve on the virtue of sincerity because that’s something that most people struggle with. I especially struggle with it such as when I have to apologize to someone I am not always truly remorseful.

    2. You can never fully understand how to live right. There are certain things you must first understand. First of all, everyone’s idea of living right is a little or a lot different. Second, in order to find our ideal way to live we must first make the mistakes that tell us what is wrong. Lastly, if you never take risks then you will never find your right way of living.
    3. In the end it’s up to you to decide if you’ve lived a good life. You may not even need virtues. Who knows? I think you definitely need the virtue of moderation if you are going to get anywhere in life. I am very good at doing things in moderation.
    4. The idea that one day I’ll be able to go wherever, whenever drives me to be the best I can be. I don’t think anyone can ever be completely satisfied because it’s that desire that will get them out of bed in the morning or the extra push to finish hard.

    What’s wrong with living with no regrets?

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    1. If you live with no regrets, you have nothing to help guide you. Having regrets help to determine who you are to be as a person.

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  28. 1)I personally think that "tranquility", Benjamin Franklin's 11th virtue is the most important virtue listed. Tranquility, or an inner peace, is what keeps your life stable in unstable times. Without tranquility, you are more prone to anxiety and fear. Just think of all of the missed opportunities you face without that calming inner peace. I think that teenagers should be more tranquil because we tend to be so self conscious about things that don't even matter.

    2)In my opinion, you know that you are living your life right when you act by your morals. Everyone has their own morals on how to live right, and no matter what your parents or what your teachers tell you how to live your life, in the end, you are the one who chooses the path of life you want to be in.

    3)Good Life? I believe that as long as someone is happy living their lives, they are having a "good life". The only thing everyone has to do is try their best to be happy and respect other people.

    4)The thing that drives me to improve into a better person is the knowledge of knowing that there is always someone better than me out there and I want to see how far I could go with my morals. I don't think we will ever be satisfied, technology always have something for us .

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  29. 1. Personally, I think the most important virtue on Franklin's list is Sincerity. Sincerity makes a huge difference to the entire world and to yourself. Being sincere means not being hypocritical or deceitful. Sincerity gives people open minds and keeps people from being so judgmental. The world is different and not everything is a certain way, so being sincere to other's beliefs is the most important to cultural developmental and to having peace in the world. I also think the virtue of Sincerity should be improved on. People (teens) in this world don't really have sincerity anymore. They take everything for granted and act without being sincere to others.

    2. Living right doesn't mean living a certain way, or living by a certain standard. Living right means doing what you want in life and most importantly doing what makes you happy in your life. Life to me, has no expectations but to do what you want in your life. We do not live right by being a doctor or lawyer. We live right by making ourselves happy weather we want to travel the entire world or simply just finding love.

    3. I think virtues like sincerity, cleanliness, silence, and resolution must be attained in order to live a 'good' life. Cleanliness is about forgiveness. I think it's right to forgive because everyone makes mistakes and I personally believe everyone deserves a second chance. Having cleanliness makes people happier and pure. Silence is also helpful to a good life because sometimes being quiet has the loudest meaning. Words are words, but silence can be anything. Emotions from mad to sad to happy. Resolution is key to having a good life too. I think this because being able to resolve any problem makes life much more happier. Resolution means understanding and love. Even though it's hard to practice all these virtues, practicing them does make life better and makes me happier as a person.

    4. The main reason why these virtues drive me to do what I do, is because in my life I have a goal. I set out to find my own goal and purpose in my life and I know practicing these virtues will make my life successful and happier. To me, I think no one can ever really be satisfied, but I know when I find the purpose in my life, that I will be satisfied even though I don't really have everything.

    Is it right to change the way we want our lives to benefit others?

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  30. 1. The most important of Benjamin Franklin’s virtues is the second, silence, in which he states, “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trickling conversation.” This is the most important because it really hammers home that there isn't any point in bringing up conflict because it won’t do anything for anybody. People need to improve on the first virtue, temperance. Benjamin Franklin says, “Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation.” I like the first part, “Eat not to dullness,” because people today seem to have the same unhealthy food constantly such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell. But society really needs to improve on not “drinking to elevation” because so many people not only drink, but also do drugs to give themselves bliss.

    2. Living “right” is to be accepted into society, while also being an individual. Therefore, it is different for everybody to learn. We learn this through experience, manners, and thinking for ourselves.

    3. Aside from Franklin’s virtues, I believe that we must also follow the norms and manners of society. It is socially unacceptable for people to be rude and mean to others. I know that is dipped upon by Franklin, but it is a very real issue. I practice respecting others because I feel that I have to earn respect and I fell that it can be easily gained and twice as easily lost.

    4. I always want to be there for others and want others to be there for me, so I constantly do my best to contribute to society and the well-being of others. I do not believe that we can be satisfied with ourselves. It is my belief that we can always improve and learn from the past and present to hopefully affect the future.

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  31. Should everyone live by their own virtues? Or should society live without people governing their own virtues and beliefs?

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  32. 1.) I believe that of Franklin’s virtues the most important one is Justice. I believe this because the most important thing to me is to never do wrong to someone else and that is what Franklin’s virtue is about. The virtue that I believe people should improve upon is Franklin’s virtue of Industry. This virtue is about not wasting time like everyone often does. Prime examples of time wasters are facebook, twitter and other social networking sites. These things waist so much of our time and make our days so much shorter.
    2.) To live “right” is a personal idea so the people that we learn it from is everybody. It’s like learning who you are. You pick up bits and pieces of it from everyone around you when you are growing up but overall it’s about you and what you choose to become. So when a person learns to live ”right” they are not learning for one person but the experiences and people that are around them and deciding what is right.
    3.) Being asked to name things that make a life “good” is ridiculous. There is no place to start with this question and no place to finish. This question is so subjective that every single person will have a different answer because every person has a little different idea of what they imagine their perfect life to be. To me couple of virtues of a “good” life is to be happy, treat others with respect, and work as hard as possible. But these are only a few ideas for me of a “good” life. This question is one that someone could spend days thinking about for just themselves instead a generic one for everyone. SO overall I believe that this question is a question with no right answer or right place to even begin to answer it.
    4.) What drives me to improve is the fact that I know I can be better. I try and improve to reach my full potential. Even though that I will never be satisfied with the result because there is always more to learn or more to do I try because I know that it is possible to at least be better than I am today. This idea of being the best is one that everyone strives for but for me it is the idea of being better than I was the day before.
    Question: How can you tell if you are becoming a better person? Is becoming a better person something that is subjective to one person or does everyone agree on what a better person looks like?

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  33. 1. I find Franklins virtue of Order the most important because without it the world would be a mess, there would be no order in anything. Just ponder on that for a minute... Waiting in line wouldn't exist nor would anything we do. What we need to practice more of is cleanliness, people need to take care of their bodies and so forth.

    2. We learn to live 'right' by what we learn and the house we grow up in, the meaning of 'right' is different for all. For example, if you grow up with a father who beats your mother then you might see that as being okay or 'right' So your home life determines what we see as 'right'.

    3. In my opinion the virtues you need to attain a good life are, Honesty, Integrity and hard working. I live by these. As for Franklins virtues i think the ones you need to live by are, most if not all of them. And no i do not live by all of these.

    4. What drives me to improve is the naysayers and other people and my goals. I will never be satisfied and i will always want to improve and be better.

    Does everyone have a virtue they live by?

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  34. 1. The virtue I think is most important is resolution because it helps people solve problems with eachohter and it has been used in the government for years to solve problems with different countries. I think we need to improve more on justice because now a days it seems like people can say anything and not have any consequences. They can say the most rude and demining things to people and then they just go on with their life. I really dont get how that works.

    2.I think we learn how to live right from our parents and other people around us because our parents teach us not to lie and misbehave but we get influenced by people at school and on t.v. whether that be good or bad influence it is on us how we take it.

    3. Some virtues I think would be good is order, resolution, justice, humility. These are all needed because without these life would be more hectic than it already is, our life wouldnt be as balanced as it is now even with all the surprises. Yes I try to practice these but it is very difficult to have them in your life 24/7.

    4. Something that strives me to improve is when I think about my future and how better it would be if I tried my best at graduation with a high GPA and a scholarship to a Fashion Institue. Yes I will be satisfied once I acheive my goal.

    Based on Franklin's virtues should everyone live like that?

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  35. 1. In my opinion I think the most important virtue on Franklin's list is Sincerity. Its basically saying to have truth in your own words and not be so judgmental, this can especially relate to our current elections that are coming up and all the commercials you see on television can show bad examples of sincerity, It also shows how bias people can be and disrespectful at times. The virtue is telling us to have respect for one another and love each other. I also believe this is one virtue that should be improved and that goes for our own society,especially in our generation we are lacking so much in being sincere to others, people act without having any sincerity.
    2. We learn to live right by having the right attitude and doing the right things from gaining experience in the world and having a great positive mind on things even during the darkest of times in our lives.
    3. To live a good life you must attain the virtues of being kind, having love and respect for others, yes I do live by all of these, but as for Franklin's list, no.
    4. Trying to find happiness is one of the ways to be closer to complete satisfaction, but I believe it is impossible to reach that complete satisfaction because we will always be trying to improve ourselves or change to make ourselves better. Happiness is what drives me to become a better person, to achieve more of the happiness that can be found in my life.
    Should we live by all of the virtues on Franklin's list?

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  36. 1. I believe the most important virtue is Humanity or to posses kindness. This virtue is the most important because in our current culture everyday people are losing humanity due to violence. These people usually don't trust anyone including loved ones or family members.
    2. To live "right" is to live by your own virtues and uphold them even under the most extreme circumstances. That's how to live right for yourself, but to live "right" for others you need to direct all your efforts towards people that are surrounding you, and concentrate on their happiness before your own.
    3. In order to obtain a "good" life you need to uphold the virtues you believe in whole heatedly and practice them under extreme conditions. No one will remember the time you held the door for a woman. However, everyone will remember the time you took a bullet for someone out of pure friendship or love.
    4. I currently feel life I am satisfied with my life. High school doesn't usually boost the highest quality of living, but I just have to take it one step at a time and roll with the punches. Being flexible about your own virtues in a world with so much violence and corruption is always a great idea.
    Is it possible to bend or flex your virtues for a certain situation without compromising your moral compass?

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