Benjamin Franklin: Beyond the Kite and the Key

          Ben Franklin’s writing often parallels Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe from several angles. Other than Franklin’s direct mention of a longing for the sea, minute details regarding food and specific amounts of money owed allude to Defoe’s novel, considered the prototype for all English novels.  Colonial interpretations of Robinson Crusoe fit this autobiography in the sense that both Crusoe and Franklin find ways to display vanity in knowledge and experience.  Franklin holds almost every person he introduces in his autobiography to some amount of debt, and he often places his prose in competition not with his peers, but rather those much older than him.  Franklin’s emphasis on reason and understanding also highlights some themes from the Enlightenment period.  Franklin writes that he endeavored to strengthen both his “elegance of expression” and his “arrangement of thoughts” (15-16).  Both of these thoughts are consistent with that of the 18^th century as a whole, which placed a large significance on the advance of science and understanding.  Today, science still relies on a valuable understanding of past studies, as they often form a basis for all subsequent studies.

            Franklin also sheds light on what could be considered the central themes of both science and philosophy.  His father’s suggestion that “nothing was useful which was not honest” holds great value when considering the establishment of scientific finding and moreover the delivery of such knowledge to the general public (11).  Franklin also notes that he avoids use of absolute words when making an argument, as to uphold the idea that no argument can be certain.  Scientific theories are known as theories for a reason, and scientists work with the understanding that no finding is an absolute truth.  It seems discouraging that a career could be spent establishing theories that will most likely be outdated in the future.  However, this process is necessary. Right?

            To reflect more freely, I think an interesting theme of this writing is idea that people are meant to go into specific professions.  Often times in his autobiography, Franklin mentions his doubts that an acquaintance of his will have success in a certain career, and he goes as far as suggesting that they do not pursue these paths.  While this discouragement does still exist today, it is significantly limited when compared to Franklin’s suggestions.  Our society is much more supportive of youth exploring all options for their future.  Major changes en route to a college degree are more common than ever.  Does this disparity between Franklin’s time and the present have any effect on the successes or failures in certain professions?  Are we scientists, or are we attempting to be?