The APS and the Pursuit of Happiness

ABSTRACTS: In this article, Jeffrey Rosen, CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center, explores how reading the classical moral philosophy that inspired the Founders changed his life. During COVID, Rosen embarked on an intellectual journey, inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s rigorous reading habits and drawing from Jefferson’s expansive reading list, where he would wake up two hours before sunrise, read moral philosophy, and then watch the sunrise. This exercise led Rosen to understand that happiness meant self-mastery, character improvement, and lifelong learning: being good, not feeling good. Rosen argues that returning to this conception of happiness, which prevailed in ancient times and for much of American history, can teach us how to be a good person, a good citizen, and a champion for civic education in America. By engaging in daily deep reading and learning how to disagree without being disagreeable, we can overcome the growing threats to the American experiment and vindicate the American Idea of liberty, equality, and government by consent.