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The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America

The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America

  • Downloads：1609
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2024-02-09 13:21:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-08
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jeffrey Rosen
  • ISBN：1668002477
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Stephen Terry ，

In an America where most of the public assumes that the politicians are morally bankrupt and where much of the public views happiness as tied to greed， lust， or gluttony， analyzing the creeds of men and women who shaped our country is relevant。 Even if they failed to fully live out these principles， which Rosen clearly shows， his book suggests that a return to reflection and reading on virtue can help us pursue happiness today。 Rosen does a good job of summarizing the origins and philosophies th In an America where most of the public assumes that the politicians are morally bankrupt and where much of the public views happiness as tied to greed， lust， or gluttony， analyzing the creeds of men and women who shaped our country is relevant。 Even if they failed to fully live out these principles， which Rosen clearly shows， his book suggests that a return to reflection and reading on virtue can help us pursue happiness today。 Rosen does a good job of summarizing the origins and philosophies that shaped the founding fathers。 From it， I learned about many important documents during the time of the founders that were absent in the philosophy curriculum that I received。 Strong points of the book are the chapters on Washington， and also the reconciliation of Adams and Jefferson。 On the other hand， chapter six about Phillis Wheatley was a weak point， largely because the chapter is hardly about her。 However， all in all， I think Rosen has written a fascinating book and I highly recommend this book to those both interested in Greek Philosophy and American History！ And also， thank you， NetGalley for the advanced readers copy！ 。。。more

Dalton ，

Who inspired those who inspire you？ To me that was the central question that drove me to read Jeffrey Rosen’s “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America。” Here we dive into how the early founders of America （including the likes of George Washington， John Adams， Thomas Jefferson， and James Madison） were influenced by， and sought to emulate， the philosophies and teachings of Epictetus， Seneca， Marcus Aurelius， and others。 Inter Who inspired those who inspire you？ To me that was the central question that drove me to read Jeffrey Rosen’s “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America。” Here we dive into how the early founders of America （including the likes of George Washington， John Adams， Thomas Jefferson， and James Madison） were influenced by， and sought to emulate， the philosophies and teachings of Epictetus， Seneca， Marcus Aurelius， and others。 Interestingly， this is the third book I’ve read in the last year that’s focused either on the founders and their influences from Greek and Roman philosophers or the definition of the pursuit of happiness （the other books being “First Principles” by Thomas Ricks and “The Enlightenment” by Ritchie Robertson）。 I was a bit skeptical heading into this， feeling that I’d read what I’d needed to about this subject before。 Thankfully， that wasn’t the case。 Rosen does a great job showing how the personal lives of the founders are influenced by these writers and philosophers of centuries past， and where the founders succeeded in emulating them along with where these presidents and other American leaders fell short。 Virtues such as frugality and chastity were laudable to strive for， but often difficult or impossible to obtain for some of these men。 Which to me， makes these at times mythically intelligent men feel all that more human。 I could have used less of Rosen’s own interjections into the overall narrative （especially in the beginning which started the book on a slower pace than I would have liked） and I think some readers who are unfamiliar with the works of Livy or Cicero may struggle at times。 With all that said， “The Pursuit of Happiness” is a fascinating read that also goes beyond what you expect （covering the likes of John Quincy Adams and Frederick Douglass） to offer valuable lessons for how we， like these intellects of years past， can improve and find our own happiness。 Thank you Simon & Schuster for the copy of this book。 。。。more

Read-n-Bloom ，

TITLE: The Pursuit Of Happiness AUTHOR : Jeffrey RosenGENRE: Nonfiction/HistoryTIME: 1700s & 1800sLOCATION: During Founding of Our Constitutional Republic。 This is a most wonderful book on our Founders， not all of them， but some of the ones who stand out， George Washington， Thomas Jefferson， Benjamin Franklin， John Adams， James Madison， and Alexander Hamilton。 How they founded our republic and wanted everyone to pursue happiness。 Not what makes us feel happy or just lasts a short time， but the p TITLE: The Pursuit Of Happiness AUTHOR : Jeffrey RosenGENRE: Nonfiction/HistoryTIME: 1700s & 1800sLOCATION: During Founding of Our Constitutional Republic。 This is a most wonderful book on our Founders， not all of them， but some of the ones who stand out， George Washington， Thomas Jefferson， Benjamin Franklin， John Adams， James Madison， and Alexander Hamilton。 How they founded our republic and wanted everyone to pursue happiness。 Not what makes us feel happy or just lasts a short time， but the pursuit of happiness that will lead to ours and other’s happiness and the nation’s happiness in the long term。 What brings happiness， not what makes you feel good。 And what is it that will truly help us be happy in the long term？ Our framers read the Bible and other philosophers that helped them realize that it was virtue， virtuousness。 Being virtuous will stay with us and we will be happy for our life if we continue on in virtue。 Our framers knew this。 They didn’t always know this， but by reading and always trying to understand what our Creator told us in His word and reading other philosophers on the subject， they tried to educate themselves on what would make a man or woman happy in the long term。 And they wanted that for our nation。 I know many say， the Bible wasn’t a part of our founding， but it was。 Jesus and his New Testament laws can be found in our Declaration of Independence and all throughout our Constitution。 It was a big part of our founding but there were other parts too。 You can find it all throughout history， including in this book。 I wonder where our virtue has went？ …I hope if you read The Pursuit of Happiness that you enjoy it as I did。 Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review #ThePursuitOfHappiness with my honest thoughts and opinions。 。。。more

Brandon Westlake ，

Jeffrey Rosen's book is an important contribution to early American historiography。 The idea of virtue floats throughout the writings of the founders and the major historical figures of the early republic。 This is the first work that I think does an adequate job of looking at how that philosophy is fleshed out by the founders， and where that philosophy comes from。 Most of the major Enlightenment thinkers of America are here: Franklin and the almanack， Jefferson and the Notes on Virginia。 Readers Jeffrey Rosen's book is an important contribution to early American historiography。 The idea of virtue floats throughout the writings of the founders and the major historical figures of the early republic。 This is the first work that I think does an adequate job of looking at how that philosophy is fleshed out by the founders， and where that philosophy comes from。 Most of the major Enlightenment thinkers of America are here: Franklin and the almanack， Jefferson and the Notes on Virginia。 Readers of these early American texts won't find anything new in Rosen's book about what they say， but they will certainly walk away from the book understanding where it came from。 Each of these thinkers' writings are traced back to ancient Roman and Greek thinkers， and Rosen shows where those ideas directly influence the men of the 1700s。 The Pursuit of happiness itself is tied to virtue， for happiness can only be found in this American polity， according to founders， when the spirit of the community is reflected inward， in an act of self-sacrificing towards the common good。 Virtue is the ultimate trait of a good statesman， and a good statesman and virtue is best directed to the progress of the community。 The book's only drawback was that I felt it lacked some ruminating on the longterm history of virtue。 While Rosen does seem to imply this and focus a bit on it， I couldn't help but question where this virtue went to。 How did it seem to fade so fast？ Or， maybe more accurately， how did it seem to fade to some and not others？ And how do we make sense of virtue today， or lack thereof？ Can we rekindle this virtuous identity somehow？ Perhaps this book will start a conversation among historians about these questions 。。。more