Franklin on virtue and happiness: For each of Franklin’s virtues, he can tell you why it contributes to success (ie happiness) in life.

Aristotle on virtue and happiness: Vicious people (Not Aristotle’s example, serial killers, dog-abusers, way-overeater) are not truly reasonable. Only VIRTUOUS people ARE truly reasonable. So only virtuous people satisfy their purpose in life as well as they could, where the purpose is to be reasonable. And since only they satisfy their purpose in life as well as they could, only they could be truly happy.

Puritanism in relation to Aristotle and Franklin: Aristotle was NOT influenced by Puritanism. The Puritans valued hard work, frugality, etc. and those values are also represented on Franklin’s list.

Aristotle’s definition of virtue: A virtue is a disposition to have the right feelings, actions, and thoughts.

Obviously there is a lot more to fill in in order to make sense of all of this, but this is like the bullet-point version of your paper.

the body of your paper must be double-spaced. You must submit your paper as a Word document on Canvas.

Your paper will be graded on its grammar, clarity, structure, and formatting. Make sure your

grammar is good and your writing is clear. To grade your paper, Dr. Corsa will complete a

standard rubric associated with the paper on Canvas. In addition, Dr. Corsa will modify your

final grade, shown on the rubric, up or down by as much as 10% based on how well you follow

the directions, below.

***

For this paper, you will compare and contrast the views of Benjamin Franklin and Aristotle.

You can focus on whatever similarities and difference you would like, as long as you meet the

requirements below and also focus only on what Franklin and Aristotle suggest in the course

readings, the course collaborative document, and the Prezi.

The Franklin reading is in the course iBook. The Aristotle reading, which is not in the iBook, is

available via Canvas, in the “Aristotle” module. Our course notes on Franklin are in the 2nd

Collaborative Document. Our course notes on Aristotle are in a Prezi, and a link to it can be

found in the course announcements on Canvas. Don’t worry if portions of the Aristotle reading

don’t make sense to you; focus on the sections that do make sense, and to which we explicitly

referred in class.

There is no need to look at external sources, such as outside webpages, when completing this

assignment. Of course, if you do look at external sources, you should be sure to credit them with

in-text, parenthetical citations and also on your References page.

CAREFUL: I wrote many sections of the Collaborative Document and Prezi, myself. Note that

your wording in your paper should never sound too similar to my own wording in those

documents. That is, do not copy and paste me, and make sure your language is substantially

different from mine! You should not copy what I, myself, have written even if you put it in

quotation marks and give me credit.

There are four additional requirements with respect to content:

(1) Somewhere early in your paper, but not the first paragraph, provide Aristotle’s definition of

“virtue” in your own words. Also, be clear about how Aristotle thinks truly virtuous people

would act, what feelings they would have, and what motives would lead them to action.

Nonetheless, remember that a person can act, feel, and think correctly without being virtuous.

2) Explain why Aristotle and Franklin think that by acquiring virtues we could improve our lives and become happier and more successful. Also, be clear about how each of them think that we can successfully acquire virtues. What do we need to do in order to acquire them?

(3) Describe some of the ways Franklin’s thought was influenced by Puritanism in particular and Christianity more broadly.

(4) You must provide at least two short quotations – one written by Aristotle and one written by Franklin. Your quotations must come from, and appear in, the assigned readings from our

course. Be aware that I frequently quote course readings in the Prezi and Collaborative

Document, so those resources could help you. You must provide these quotations in “quotation marks” and provide APA style parenthetical citations after the quotations. When you provide a parenthetical citation after a quotation from Aristotle or Franklin, do not cite the Collaborative Document, the Prezi, or a third-party source who discusses Aristotle or Franklin. Instead, cite Aristotle and Franklin and the texts they wrote.

There are several additional requirements, with respect to structure:

The first paragraph of your paper must provide an introduction. Make sure what you write is relevant to the paper topic, and do not be overly general. Do not simply write that these

discussions will be “important” or “interesting,” and do not write about how long a time people have been talking about related questions. Make the last sentence or two of the paragraph your thesis: a statement that ties together the main claims you will advance in your paper. Do not be overly general, and do not write a thesis sentence like this: “There are many similarities and

differences between the thought of Franklin and Aristotle. A better thesis might look like this: “While Aristotle and Franklin agree that ____, they differ greatly in regard to ____” (filling in the blanks).

In the body of your paper, you should start with points of similarity and explain how Franklin and Aristotle agree. Once finished with points of similarity, move on to points of difference, and completely finish discussing each point of difference before you move on to the next. Do not

write the first half of your paper on Aristotle and the second half on Franklin, or vice versa.

Instead, go back and forth between them, throughout your paper.

Your final paragraph should offer a conclusion, and should offer closure to your paper. It

should not repeat what you have already said. While it should reiterate your answer to this

paper’s central question, it should also put your answer into a bigger context and indicate its

importance and relevance. Again, as in your thesis paragraph, be specific rather than overly

general.

Additional Notes

This paper must be formatted in the APA style, with a separate title page, and a separate,

properly formatted references page. Your references page should credit both Aristotle and

Franklin as authors of relevant texts, since these two will clearly influence you. No abstract is required.

Do not plagiarize! If you LOOK AT any website, book, or article while you are working on your essay, you should include it on your references page, EVEN IF you do not directly-quote it at all. If any website, book, or article from outside of this course influences a sentence you write, you

must provide an in-text citation referring to it, EVEN IF you do not quote it at all. It is possible

to plagiarize even if you don’t directly-quote someone else. If you use someone else’s ideas,

without giving that person credit in your paper, you have plagiarized that person, even if you

never use that person’s specific words. Nonetheless, if you do use anyone else’s words – even

just a couple – you must put their words in quotation marks and give the author credit. If you are

caught plagiarizing, the penalty could (depending on circumstance) be as extreme as failing the

paper, failing the course, or even expulsion from the university.