92Y’s Science of Virtue is a look at the values that shape our world. Exploring a set of virtues championed by Benjamin Franklin throughout his life, the podcast features interviews with top thinkers on the science behind ideas like temperance and silence and how these timeless themes impact our modern lives. In this episode, Kelly McGonigal, Stanford lecturer and author of The Willpower Instinct, talks to host Ruthie Ackerman about the virtue of resolution and the central role our values can play in creating resolutions that stick.
In 1727, Ben Franklin launched a project he called The Mutual Improvement Club, a weekly meeting of Franklin and his peers in which they explored ways to improve themselves and others. The club centered around 13 virtues – Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity and Humility – which Franklin followed throughout his life as he aimed to be a better leader, citizen, and man. Almost 300 years later, 92Y is launching a 21st century Benjamin Franklin Club with Franklin’s virtues as a starting point to re-imagine community engagement, leadership and ways we can improve ourselves and our world.