Franklin's Assertion All Actions May Be Justified Through Reasoning example essay topic

301 words
Benjamin Franklin asserts in his Autobiography that anyone can justify their actions through reasoning. He uses an example in which he juxtaposes two of his beliefs: one, that it is unjust to eat fish because you are killing something unprovoked, two, that it is fine, because in nature there is to be a food chain to sustain one another. He states: "if you eat one another, I don't see why we mayn't eat you", referring to the morality of eating fish. However, he also states: "taking of fish as a kind of unprovoked murder, since none of them had or ever could do us any injury that might justify the slaughter". For example, on the issue of the current war with Iraq, the US justifies its actions by saying that the inspectors don't work, and that Iraq must be forced to disarm. While on the other hand, other nations such as France can justify their standpoint by saying that inspectors do work and war is not the answer.

Franklin makes a powerful statement, which is reflected in today's world's abundance of self-justification and self-delusion. Let's take an argument between mother and son for example: the son, wanting to do what he wants will always be able to come up with convincing reasons to justify what he wants to do, the mother on the other hand, can similarly always come up with reasons why he should not do what he wants to do. Your reasoning is driven by your beliefs. Franklin makes a very valid assertion in his Autobiography of the ability to justify one's actions through reasoning, no matter what the actions are. Franklin shows that starting from the same point, with reasoning, you can reach two very different end points..