The Founders, the Pursuit of Happiness, and the Virtuous Life
A Conversation about Jeffrey Rosen’s new book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America
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Show Notes
Jeffrey Rosen talks about his new book, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America, followed by a panel discussion on the influence of classical writers and thinkers on the founding generation. Panelists include University of Chicago Professor Eric Slauter, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will; and Melody Barnes, executive director of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy. This program was recorded live on February 9, 2024.
Resources:
- Jeffrey Rosen, The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America (2024)
- Cicero, The Tusculan Disputations
- Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics
- Melody Barnes, et al, ed., Community Wealth Building and the Reconstruction of American Democracy (2020)
- Karsh Institute of Democracy, University of Virginia
- Eric Slauter, The State as a Work of Art: The Cultural Origins of the Constitution (2009)
- Thomas Jefferson’s Recommended Reading
- George Will, Statecraft as Soulcraft: What Government Does (1984)
- George Will, The Conservative Sensibility (2019)
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