A life treated as an experiment
Franklin’s autobiography describes efforts to make personal improvement observable. A table of virtues turns an aspiration into a record of daily conduct.
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01Explore Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues All discoveries →
PEOPLE WORTH GETTING TO KNOW
Benjamin Franklin
Writer, printer, inventor, and statesman
A CLOSER LOOK
The story behind it.
An experimenter in public life and in the habits of everyday conduct.
Thirteen virtues
The selected scheme includes temperance, silence, order, resolution, and humility. Franklin describes concentrating on one virtue at a time rather than attempting equal attention to all at once.
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Background & references (opens in a new tab)Source for Benjamin Franklin: Background & references.
Sources for this closer look
Background & references (opens in a new tab)A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN
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Framework
Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues
A system of daily self-examination
Thirteen named virtues and a tracking method from Franklin’s autobiography.
Explore the idea →Sources & credits
Introductions are grounded in the sources below. Collection notes and reading prompts provide an editorial starting point; personal opinions are identified in the collection’s content.
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