KhizooologyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Make improvement observable, without pretending to be perfect.
Big Idea
Franklin presents self-education and deliberate practice as tools for personal and civic improvement in an unfinished account of his earlier life.
Learning through print
Apprenticeship and reading link practical work to a widening intellectual life.
Practicing the virtues
His tracking system makes conduct something to review regularly rather than praise in vague terms.
Pride resists the plan
Attempts at moral improvement also reveal the difficulty of overcoming vanity.
Improvement through association
Shared libraries and civic projects let individual effort become a resource for others.
An unfinished self-portrait
The narrative stops well before the end of his life, and its publication history involves several later versions.
Khizooo Take
Track one behavior you want to improve, then ask whether the practice also benefits someone else.
Remember
Review your conduct; do not mistake the record for moral perfection.