#WHAT IS THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FULL#

At the end of the letter he outlines a syllabus of EpicurusвЂ™ philosophy. Jefferson underlines the gentle, вЂњrationalвЂќ moral philosophy of Epicurus that rejects over-indulgence and leads to peace of mind. It turns out that, in a letter to William Short, an ex-neighbor and private secretary who served him in Paris, Jefferson bluntly states that вЂњI am an Epicurean.вЂќ What follows is an amazingly sophisticated analysis, and a lament, on how profoundly Epicurus was misunderstood by Greek and Roman philosophers and as a result, the contemporary world. Simply put, if you cultivated close friendships, limited your desires to the essential necessities of life, and rejoiced in the moment, happiness was yours to keep. You could call it the вЂњriches within ragsвЂќ view of happiness. He was not a proponent of the вЂњrags to richesвЂќ view of happiness. In other words, if he was around now, you wouldnвЂ™t see Epicurus on Wall Street. He treated his followers like family, emphasized simplicity and the need to tame desires, especially those not aimed at the вЂњnecessitiesвЂќ of life, and pretty well equated happiness with peace of mind. Instead he conversed with his students in a cozy, well-tended garden. Apparently, Epicurus did not teach in a lavishly funded Academy. I teach Asian philosophy, and I was astonished by the parallels between Buddha and Epicurus. Yet the cover story, which was devoted entirely to the life and thought of Epicurus, sang a different tune. The cover displayed a naked couple locked in fond embrace (a great stereotype of the Epicurean life, and probably why the issue sold out). It was devoted to the вЂњArt of Happiness.вЂќ She knows that I am fairly obsessed with the topic. Last summer, as soon as I stepped into my motherвЂ™s apartment in the south of France, she began excitedly waving the latest issue of the Nouvel Observateur, a sort of liberal Newsweek.

#WHAT IS THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FULL#

Over the years I had read textbooks and articles echoing the same refrain: Epicurus was an вЂњegoistic hedonistвЂќвЂ¦ie someone who championed the pursuit of personal pleasureвЂ“for moi and moi alone, as Miss Piggy, the ruthless diva of Muppets fame, would have put it.Д«ut life is full of surprises. Rags to richesвЂ¦or riches in rags?ДЄ few years back I read that Jefferson was an вЂњEpicurean.вЂќ In my mind it reinforced the credibility of the вЂњrags to richesвЂќ theory. One reason is that we have misunderstood the Greek thinker Epicurus, who, as it turns out, had a major impact on his thinking. There is a good chance that we have profoundly misunderstood JeffersonвЂ™s view of happiness. From this perspective, JeffersonвЂ™s vision of happiness was the вЂњrags to richesвЂќ version of the good life. The вЂњpursuit of happinessвЂќ was a euphemism for the pursuit of wealth. One of the most influential theories doing the rounds is that Jefferson simply plagiarized the English political thinker John Locke, who championed вЂњlife, liberty and estate (property).вЂќ According to this view, JeffersonвЂ™s replacement of the word вЂњestateвЂќ with the вЂњpursuit of happiness,вЂќ was essentially a play on words. What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he enshrined the вЂњpursuit of happinessвЂќ as a basic right in the Declaration of Independence? He failed to explain why, at least not in the original document, nor in his official correspondence.

ItвЂ™s no wonder that, in the minds of many Americans, the вЂњpursuit of happinessвЂќ is unconsciously equated with the pursuit of wealth and security. Half of the page is filled with websites devoted to the movie, in spite of the fact that you got the spelling right. Try typing вЂњpursuit of happinessвЂќ on Google. It seems that many Americans have been pursuing the Wall Street version of happiness with a vengeance, encouraged by the 2006 blockbuster вЂњPursuit of Happyness,вЂќ in which Will Smith and his real-life son become best buddies in an epic journey from rags to riches. The Science of Happiness: Theory and Practice (online courses).High School Happiness and Wellbeing Curriculum.Make a Difference: Change the World, Change Yourself.Annotated Bibliography вЂ“ Strengths and Virtues.The Philosophy of Virtuous Use of Strengths.Annotated Bibliography вЂ“ Getting in the Flow.Annotated Bibliography-Mindfulness and Positive Thinking.Review of Key Studies on Mindfulness and Positive Thinking.The Philosophy and Science of Mindfulness.Mindfulness and Positive Thinking Expand.Annotated Bibliography вЂ“ Spiritual Engagement.Key Studies on Religious/Spiritual Engagement & Meaning.The Philosophy of Finding Meaning in Life.Spiritual Engagement and Meaning Expand.Review of Key Studies on Caring/Volunteering.The Philosophical Basis of Caring, Compassion, and Interdependence.What Is Happiness? The Science and the Hype.

What is the pursuit of happiness