Benjamin Franklin Essay Example for Free

Benjamin Franklin Essay I. INTRODUCTION Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston as the son of a candle maker. From humble beginnings, he grew into a renowned figure of American history. â€Å"He became famous for being a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist†. Today, Americans recognize him for being one of our Founding Fathers and a prominent citizen of the city of Philadelphia. In his autobiography, Franklin shows that he desired self-improvement and in pursuit of this goal focused on improvements of four different types: intellectual, moral, business, and social. II. BODY Franklin’s intellectual improvements were numerous. As a child, he had a thirst for knowledge. He exhibited a readiness to learn and read at an early age, and while in school, he rose to the head of his class and then skipped a grade. After Franklin’s father pointed out that he had a poor manner of writing, Franklin resolved to improve not only his manner of writing but also his arrangement of thoughts in his written work. His ambition was to become a good English writer. In his young age, he also was intent on improving his language and when he got older he taught himself French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. He used the library as a means of improvement by constant study of one to two hours per day here. Franklin went to great lengths to achieve moral improvement. As a young man, Franklin developed a plan regulating his future conduct in life that he adhered to even in his old age. He wrote a list of moral characters that he would like to possess such as temperance, fr ugality, and humility. He had thirteen categories in all that he wrote down in a book to carry with him. He had a separate column for each day of the week. He would pull out the book and mark which virtues he felt he had committed a fault in that day so that he may examine them and improve upon them. During the course of this practice, Franklin said that he found himself fuller of faults than he would have thought, but he had the satisfaction of seeing those faults diminish. His actions also showed that he strove for moral perfection. He thought excessive drinking was a detestable habit and abstained from doing so when his coworkers drank all day long. He spent no time in taverns, playing games, or displaying antics of any kind. He also believed in the importance of frugality and did his best to save money on housing. During the eighteen months he lived in London, he worked hard and spent little on himself except for the occasional play or book. It was his practice of frugality that lead to his wealth and distinction later in life. Benjamin Franklin had a Quaker friend that pointed out that he thought that Franklin had a problem with pride and so Franklin endeavored to be more humble. He attributed his humility, or sometimes his appearance of humility, with allowing him to hold so much weight with his fellow citizens. Franklin also strove for truth, sincerity, and integrity in all of his business dealings. Not only did Franklin improve intellectually and morally but he also made improvements in business. In little time after becoming an apprentice to his brother, he exhibited great proficiency in the printing business. He was able to take a failing newspaper and make it profitable by developing a better type and better print which led to an increase in the number of subscribers. He made a mold to be used in printing houses to combat the problem of equipment deficiencies. He also made a copper press to print paper money. He filled the spaces in Poor Richard’s Almanac with proverbial sentences for the benefit of its readers. Similarly, he made use of newspapers to communicate instruction. Franklin also contributed greatly to social improvements in his day. He formed a club of mutual improvement called JUNTO. He started the Philadelphia public library which was an institution that was imitated by other towns. He laid the ground work for a more effective city watch and started the first fire company. He established a Philosophical Society in Pennsylvania and also an academy that grew into the University of Pennsylvania. He invented a more efficient and economical stove known as the Franklin stove. He helped in the establishing of a hospital in Philadelphia and also in streets being paved. Franklin was generally successful in his attempts at self-improvement, excelling from an early age. He attempted to be the best person he could be and genuinely desired to help others. He convinced coworkers to stop drinking and spend their money of food instead and also loaned money to them. He loaned money to his friends, Collins and Ralph, even though they took advantage of him and never repaid their debts. He recognized that Keimer was only using him to train his workers and then was going to fire him, yet Franklin still cheerfully put Keimer’s printing house in order. Franklin was also always eager to help young beginners. He further demonstrated that he was not a self-promoter when he had a chance for a better business deal but declined because of the obligations he felt he had with his current partners. III. CONCLUSION Franklin has long been revered as one of the great figures of American history. As a Founding Father, he was instrumental in the early days of shaping the American government. Throughout his lifetime, he strove for improvement in intellectual, moral, business, and social areas and was successful in his attempts in each of these areas. He was a benevolent individual who desired to help others, and he authored his autobiography in the hope that posterity would follow his example and reap the same benefits References Benjamin Franklin: Glimpses of the Man. 1994. The Franklin Institute Science Museum. http://www.fi.edu/franklin/ (accessed June 4, 2012). Franklin, Benjamin. 1909. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Ed. Charles W. Eliot. New York: P F Collier Son Company.

Petrus Christus and Raphael from the Age of the Renaissance Essay

Petrus Christus and Raphael from the Age of the Renaissance The 15th century was the beginning of the age of the Renaissance. In Western Europe it gave rise to new ideas, inventions, a new way of life, and most important a new way that people expressed themselves. It was an age of new techniques in painting, sculpting, and creating a visual aspect of the Western European culture. Among many great artists of this period, two very important people to the artistic world and their works spun out -- Petrus Christus with The Lamentation and Raphael with The Agony in the Garden. The Lamentation was painted in 1450 and its one of Christus’ most beautiful works. It displays the strength of his work along with the simplicity of the design and the clarity of depiction in the painting. The painting was done on plaster in oil beckoning by a wood panel. The overall painting is 10 1/8 x 14 inches, and painted surface covers 10 x 13 3/4 inches. The painting was later used as an inspirational peice of work to inspire a sculpted relief in Sicily. The Lamentation was done in one point linear perspective. Also developed during the Renaissance, its a mathematical system at which all lines meet at one vanishing point to make the painting look three dimensional. The texture of the painting is smooth. Since it was done in oil the colors are vibrant. Doing this painting in oil gave Christus the ability to change his mind at will. Unlike with fresco painting, wher...

John Nash

Using the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR) John Nash has been given the primary diagnosis of being undifferentiated. Plus abnormalities of the brain structure and function, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations. Nash often has panic attacks, withdrawal from social activities, and loss of attention to personal hygiene and grooming, and the inability to separate real form unreal events. John Nash is classified under Undifferentiated Type because he had a number of symptoms such as delusions, disorganized behavior, disorganized speech, and hallucinations. He believes he is being forced to work for the government to decipher codes. That they inserted a coded chip in order to keep track of him, and if he doesn’t comply with their wishes, they will expose him to the Russians, who in turn will kill him. This interferes with his personal and work life tremendously. He also thought the imaginary person William Parcher, who belonged to the United States Department of Defense, was out to get him. In his mind, William Parcher was black-mailing him to do as he was told, or the US government would have him killed. I also believe that Nash could also be classified with anxiety and depression because after leaving the mental hospital, he wasn’t able to work, wasn’t able to properly take care of his child, or even feel attracted to his wife. Axis II: Schizophrenia Nash would be determined best under Schizotypical Personality. Nash has excessive social anxiety at times, few or no close friends, paranoia and suspiciousness, and odd disorganized speech. Axis III: John had a late onset of symptoms starting at around age 30. His first hallucination was that of a roommate who moved in shortly after he started at Princeton. His Thoughts are delusional and paranoid. He thought no one liked him and he had no close friends or relationships. He thought that every one of his peers where beneath him. He also thought he was a government agent. He thought people where following him, and he would show paranoid behavior by looking out the windows and over his shoulder. Axis IV: John Nash is a 51 year old, Caucasian male. He has a family wife and child,and is exceptionally smart. Nash’s stress can be blamed on his wife not understanding his problem or he felt like she did not believe him. Another is when Nash came home from the mental hospital and was brought into a house with a new child, which would be a big environmental stressor. He did not know how to take care of the child properly. Also, a new job promotion at Princeton University was also a stressor. Axis V— between 31 and 40 On the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, I believe Nash is in between 31 and 40. John Nash had disorganized speech and disorganized thoughts. John Nash is extremely intelligent has no learning disorder and also had a strange fixation with mathematics. Treatment: Some medication individual psychotherapy so that the Nash can get regularly talked to, focuses on current and past events or problems, experiences, thoughts and feelings. Cognitive-Behavioral Conclusion: John Nash will probably never be completely cured of his mental disorders but the treatment plan that I recommended for him should make him suitable to certain thing so that he can fit into a normal society.

Neil Degrasse Tyson s Theory Of Evolution - 1890 Words

Neil DeGrasse Tyson once said â€Å"The theory of evolution, like the theory of gravity, is a scientific fact†. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an acclaimed astrophysicist, cosmologist, and science communicator and has influence in the scientific world we live in today. â€Å"Biological evolution, simply put, is descent with modification† (â€Å"An Introduction to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). â€Å"This definition encompasses small-scale evolution and large-scale evolution (the descent of different species from a common ancestor over many generations)† (â€Å"An Introduction to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). There is now enough evidence for the theory of evolution that many consider it a fact and as such are turning away from the idea of creationism as a whole. Because of evolution you can trace just about every living thing on the Earth back to its ancestry billions of years ago. Darwin believed that all life on Earth descended from one primordial form (Naff 61). Darwin didn’t discover evo lution or come up with the concept, but he was the frontrunner in research and a public endorser of the theory. The theory of evolution is correct because of homology, progressions of species changing over time, and natural selection. The first and quite possibly the best evidence for evolution is Homology. Homology is when species share similarities that are signs of common ancestry such as homologous structures. Homologous structures are ones that derive from a common ancestral structure (â€Å"Evidence of Evolution†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). These can prove to be very solid reasoning when arguingShow MoreRelatedScience Literacy : The Foundation Of Modern Humans1778 Words   |  8 Pagescultural affairs, and economic productivity. It also includes specific types of abilities.† According to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a promoter of science literacy, his view is, Part of what it is to be scientifically-literate, it s not simply, Do you know what DNA is? Or what the Big Bang is? That s an aspect of science literacy. The biggest part of it is do you know how to think about information that s presented in front of you.† To sum up these two interpretations, to be scientifically literate isRead MoreEvolution, Structure, And Ultimate Fate Of Neil Degrasse Tyson2479 Words   |  10 PagesNeil deGrasse Tyson is a contemporary astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and television host. He is best known for starring in numerous television shows explaining the universe in terms of physics. He states, â€Å"During our brief stay on planet Earth, we owe ourselves and our descendants the opportunity to explore — in part because it s fun to do. But there s a far nobler reason. The day our knowledge of the cosmos ceases to expand, we risk regressing to the childish view that the universe figuratively