The Franklin Project
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790
• a statesman, soldier and diplomat
a founding father of the USA
• a civic activist
instigator of a Philiadelpha “Junto”
• an entrepreneur
an author, journalist and satirist
• a scientist, inventor
the first to describe and label the binary nature
of electrical charges
by extrapolation one of the founding fathers
of the digital age
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

A geek!
Who but a geek would:
• ride his horse through a storm
to observe a whirlwind?
• due entirely to laziness at having to switch sets
of eyeglasses repeatedly, invent bifocal lenses?
• go so far as to print his own almanack,
under a public;y obvious pseudonym so that
everyone could have access to his maxims,
witticisms, and cartoons?
• Is there any doubt he’d be a blogger
were he alive today?
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

Who but a geek…
• would conceive of a “scheme,” “a bold
and arduous project of arriving at moral
perfection” at the tender age of 22?
(He was by that age already the owner of his own printing business,
a worldly and well-travelled temperate vegetarian, model citizen and husband)
• would devise such a scheme using
self quantifying methods including:
• self-experimentation
• behavior monitoring
• lifelogging
• psychological self-assessment
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

The scheme
“...the precept of order requiring
that every part of my business
should have its allocated time,
one page of my little book contained
the appended scheme of employment
for the twenty-four hours
of a natural day.”
An ur-dayplanner and lifelog
from “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

The “Plan”
Made up of thirteen
defined virtues
This “bold and arduous project
of arriving at moral perfection” was to
give strict attention to one virtue
each week while monitoring the
others in a secondary manner.
1. Temperance
“Eat not to dullness,
drink not to elevation.”
(“Temperance first, as it tends to procure that
coolness and clearness of head which is so necessary
where constant vigilance was to be kept up and a guard
maintained against the unremitting attraction of ancient
habits and perpetual temptations.”)
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

• Every evening he would review
the day and put a dot for each
fault committed against each
particular virtue that day
• After 13 weeks he would have
moved through them all repeating
the complete sequence for four
complete cycles per year.
(“Temperance first, as it tends to procure that coolness and
clearness of head which is so necessary where constant
vigilance was to be kept up and a guard maintained against
the unremitting attraction of ancient habits and perpetual
temptations.”)
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

The 12 other 2. Silence
“Speak not but what may benefit others
“moral virtues” or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.”
3. Order
“Let all your things have their places.
Let each part of your business have its time.”
4. Resolution
“Resolve to perform what you ought.
Perform without fail what you resolve.”
5. Frugality
“Make no expense but to do good to others
or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.”
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

6. Industry
“Lose no time. Be always employed
in something useful.
Cut off all unnecessary actions.”
7. Sincerity
“Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently
and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
8. Justice
“Wrong none, by doing injuries
or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
9. Moderation
“Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries
so much as you think they deserve.”
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

10. Cleanliness
“Tolerate no uncleanness
in body, clothes or habitation.”
11. Chastity
“Rarely use venery* but for health or offspring;
Never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of
your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
*ven·ery - noun; Middle English venerie, from Anglo-French,
from Old French vener “to hunt,” from Latin venari (see venison!?!)
1: the art, act, or practice of hunting (!?!)
12. Tranquility
“Be not disturbed at trifles,
or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
13. Humility
“Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009

A pre-emptive disclaimer:
“I think I like a speckled ax best”
“Something—that pretended to be reason—
was every now and then suggesting to me
that such extreme nicety as I exacted on myself
might be a kind of foppery in morals which,
if it were known, would make me ridiculous;
that a perfect character might be attended
with the inconvenience of being envied and hated;
and that a benevolent man should
allow a few faults in himself to keep his friends
in coutenance.”
The Franklin Project | Joe Dizney NYC | September 1, 2009