Question

"...and the Pursuit of Happiness." What does that mean? Was it Locke who used the phrase "life, liberty, and property?" "Estate," maybe? Why would Jefferson have altered the phrase to the vague idea of a "pursuit" and then tie it rather than to "property," to "happiness?"

Well, let's look at a couple of other concepts of the era. Franklin answered a question from the crowd: "A republic, if you can keep it." Adams commented at some point that "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." I wonder, can the Greeks offer virtue as a conceptual stand in for "moral and religious?" Will our Constitution work as well for a virtuous people as it does for a for a moral and religious one? Some, I'm sure, would say emphatically, "NO!" I would beg to differ; I would offer up the ancient Greek explorations of a virtuous manner of being as a suitable alternative to moral and religious.

Aristotle proposed that the highest virtue is intellectual contemplation, but half of us are below median intelligence and most of us have better shit to do, frankly. So he gave a cue card:

Courage – bravery and valor
Temperance – self-control and restraint
Liberality – bigheartness, charity and generosity
Magnificence – radiance, joie de vivre
Pride – self-satisfaction
Honor – respect, reverence, admiration
Good Temper – equanimity, level headedness
Friendliness – conviviality and sociability
Truthfulness – straightforwardness, frankness and candor
Wit – sense of humor – meaninglessness and absurdity
Friendship – camaraderie and companionship
Justice – impartiality, evenhandedness and fairness

A People reared together, within a Culture which sought to instill those virtues, through example and as well through some sort of doctrinal and ritual practice (education and common etiquette), would carry within them the very essence of a "pursuit of happiness" whether religious or not, and no matter how much property its membership managed to acquire whether individually or collectively.

Wouldn't you think?

#Constitution #government #religious #justice #culture #liberty #moral #humor

govols 8

Answer 1

Jefferson was a man of means that all ready had property. He knew that the possession of property was inadequate to cause one to think of themselves as having worth. Although if the person finds fulfillment in what they are doing then one would be content,the actual possessions of the person would be different for all people. This is why we find so many today that have much property but no happiness, because they have been told that having property would give them happiness.

Answer 2

I heard that Ben Franklin felt "life, liberty and property" sounded too exclusive and suggested "pursuit of happiness" as more appealing.

Answer 3

Excellent points made right down the line. Very good for ramblings. When my mind rambles I usually come up with old memories like when I fell out of a tree.

Answer 4

Most definitely. Aristotle’s whole purpose in writing the Nicomachean Ethics was to establish a foundation for morality aside from the notion of divine pronunciations. And IMHO he was largely successful. But his reasoning depends largely on the presence of that common culture that you talk about in the last paragraph of your post. He started with a presumption that his audience held a set of shared common beliefs, instilled by their upbringing. That is the basis for morality. That is its starting point.

Answer 5

I think Jefferson's TURN of phrase was as brilliant as any in history. His tiny tweak expressed the need for a meaningful manner of being as far more important, to both a good people and a good individual life, than a wealth of neat stuff.


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