Alongside Life and Liberty, the Declaration of Independence marked the pursuit of happiness as the foundation of American democracy.

Yet, as the history of philosophy has taught us, understanding happiness is no easy task. Pursuing happiness

as a cessation of desire, a feeling of perpetual pleasure, or as a state of human flourishing

are very different projects. So, which conception of happiness did America's founding fathers

take to be an inalienable right? In this episode, we'll be exploring the nature of

happiness with Professor Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.

According to Rosen, in tracing the founding father's intellectual development, inspired by Greek

and Roman philosophy, we see that the founders understood happiness as a pursuit of moral

excellence rather than immediate gratification. No doubt, philosophy, we see that the founders understood happiness as a pursuit of moral excellence

rather than immediate gratification. No doubt, Western understandings of happiness have shifted.

Today, happiness means something closer to feeling good rather than being good.

Our question is whether this cultural shift was a mistake. In carving out our futures,

all we look to the past,

in defining the purpose of our lives

and the destination of our states,

should we turn to America's founding fathers

and their ancient teachers.

Thank you. Hello and welcome to episode 127 of the pan-sycast, trying to think before I speak,

I'm Jack Symes, and I'm delighted to be joined once again by the man whose imitations of religious figures are far from virtuous. It's Mr. Oli-Mali.

Hello.

And heeding the founding father's call to live in pursuit of happiness,

its president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, Professor Jeffrey Rosen. Great to be with you

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