Franklin and Wilderness

I agree with the idea that Benjamin Franklin’s ideas about virtue are the antithesis of the ideas of wilderness. Wilderness is untamed, it’s freedom, and most importantly it’s imperfect. Franklin starts off talking about virtues by saying “[i]t was about time that I conceiv’d the bold and arduous Project of arriving at moral Perfection” (284). By that first sentence alone, it contradicts everything that we have talked by in regards to wilderness. Perfection is not a term with associate with wilderness and you will never be able to make it perfect. It is completely fine that way it is without trying to be changed by mankind.

His virtues themselves also don’t line up with our definition of wilderness. One of the virtues is “Order” which says “[l]et all your Things have their places” (284). One of the beautiful things about wilderness is that there is no order to it. Another virtue is “Industry” which states “[r]esolve to  perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve” (284). We also talked about wilderness being a state of mind. It is freedom and time to just enjoy life. With this virtue, Franklin is saying that you should be making the most of your time and always do something productive. With wilderness as a state of mind, I take it as allowing yourself time to step back and enjoy the simple things in life. Franklin is completely going against that idea.

There are a few virtues that go along with our definition of wilderness. The ones that go against it though are too big to overlook. I think the biggest problem with Franklin’s ideas in regards to wilderness is he wants to make something perfect. You should never strive for perfection because it doesn’t exist. Wilderness is a prime example of that. Wilderness is in no way perfect, but it is beautiful and amazing the way it is.