The pursuit of happiness : how classical writers on virtue inspired the lives of the founders and defined America Cover Image

Book

The pursuit of happiness : how classical writers on virtue inspired the lives of the founders and defined America / Jeffrey Rosen.

Rosen, Jeffrey, 1964- (author.).

Summary:

In reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen shows us how they understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good. It meant the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery. They believed that political self-government required personal self-government. In a fascinating exploration of what "the pursuit of happiness" meant to our nation's Founders, Rosen show how the famous phrase defined for them what it means to live a life of spiritual and moral purpose, how to be a good person as well as a good citizen.

Record details

ISBN: 1668002477
ISBN: 9781668002476
Physical Description: vii, 355 pages ; 24 cm
Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2024.
Copyright: ©2024

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-334) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Order: twelve virtues and the pursuit of happiness -- Temperance: Ben Franklin's quest for moral perfection -- Humility: John and Abigail Adams's self-accounting -- Industry: Thomas Jefferson's reading list -- Frugality: James Wilson and George Mason's debts -- Sincerity: Phillis Wheatley and the enslavers' avarice -- Resolution: George Washington's self-command -- Moderation: James Madison and Alexander Hamilton's Constitution -- Tranquility: Adams and Jefferson's reconciliation -- Cleanliness: John Quincy Adams's composure -- Justice: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln's self-reliance -- Silence: pursuing happiness today.