Joy Coalla
Ms. Reyes
English III Honors
19 September 2023
The Hypocrisy of the Perfect Being
Society likes to categorize their actions, some are seen as right while others wrong. Life
is not as black and white as it is made out to be. So, what does it mean to live virtuously, and
with our moral complexity is it even possible? Why do people feel the need to condense their
actions based off moral lines? Humans always walk the grey line there is no one deciding factor
to determine if an action is good or bad, everyone always has a justification and reason for what
they do. What was considered virtuous in the past is not what is considered virtuous now. In
Benjamin Franklin’s work “Autobiography” he agrees that it is impossible to perfect virtue, but
that does not mean it is not achievable in some way.
Humans are complex creatures; being the only species capable of such profound mental
capacity. If animals are unable to understand our concepts of morality and virtue does that make
them any less virtuous, or is it something that people have just created to idealize the idea that
they are righteous and good? Humans have such an obsession with “doing the right thing”
ignoring the fact that every “good deed” is followed by ten more “bad” ones. The idea that one
can live a completely virtuous life is impossible, humans will always make the same mistakes,
repeating history countless times. If people were to focus not on doing good deeds but improving
one’s self to the point where it positively effects the people around them, is that not the same
thing as virtuousness? Categories are created for people, everyone must fall in line, but what if
that is the underlining issue? In essence, Benjamin Franklin comes to a similar conclusion for his
time period, “I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest
to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits
must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on
a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct.”
As a society individuals admit that aiming for perfection is impossible, people tell each
other to set reasonable and achievable goals constantly. Perfect virtuousness is not an achievable
goal, instead they should strive on building each other up by setting a positive example. Man
brought the idea of virtue to life and implemented these ideas into the church, which was used to
control the mases across time. Even though these men preached the idea of virtuousness they
were never able to obtain it, they may attempted it with their faith but their actions were morally
unlawful.
The idea of perfect virtue is impossible but trying to achieve some level of virtue can improve
one’s self. For example, Benjamin Franklin at first wanted to achieve perfect virtue but after
realizing it would be more difficult than he thought, he created a guide and focused on small
steps towards improving himself. While it is possible for someone to slowly make steps towards
a more virtuous life, perfection can never be achieved because we are imperfect beings.
Likewise, what one person sees as virtuous others may not agree. Going by what one specific
person deems as virtuous will just create more problems in society. Humans are unique and value
individualism so setting the standard by what one person thinks will eliminate the beauty of
individuality and uniqueness and what makes our society so complex.
When one takes into consideration that humans have a deeper understanding about the world
around them and are not at the mental capacity of other species, they have a responsibility not
only to themselves but everything around them to try and improve, to do better than yesterday.
While perfectionism will never be reached, understanding that and taking it one day at a time to
slowly build on one’s character will accomplish the same societal outcome that Benjamin
Franklin wished for and hoped to achieve hundreds of years ago.