The Pursuit of Happiness
Book description
A New York Times bestseller and an “enriching…brilliant” (David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Frederick Douglass) examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democracy.
The Declaration of Independence identified “the…
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Why read it?
2 authors picked The Pursuit of Happiness as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Wonderful exploration of virtue as illustrated by the American founders. Both their very self conscious pursuit of a virtuous life and their personal failures to meet their own high standards.
By diving into the reading lists and writings of the Founding Fathers, Jeffrey Rosen provides a unique view on what inspired their thinking as they laid the foundations for America's founding. Of the many insights Rosen provides, one is that how we interpret "the pursuit of happiness" has markedly shifted over the centuries. According to the Founding Fathers, the pursuit of happiness was a eudemonistic endeavour (i.e. the pursuit of virtues like temperance, humility and moderation). In modern days, the pursuit of happiness is by many considered to be a hedonistic endeavour (i.e. the pursuit of vices, such as pleasure,…
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