The Pursuit of Happiness

Thomas Jefferson

What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he enshrined the “pursuit of happiness” as a basic human right in the Declaration of Independence?… There’s a good chance that we have profoundly misunderstood Jefferson’s view of happiness. One reason is that we continue to misunderstand the Greek thinker Epicurus, who had a major impact on his [Jefferson’s] thinking.

–Mark Setton [Pursuit of Happiness Website, History of Happiness – Epicurus].

I Am an Epicurian

In his letter to his former private secretary William Short, Jefferson bluntly states “I am an Epicurian.” What follows is an amazingly sophisticated analysis, and a lament, on how profoundly Epicurus was misunderstood by Greek and Roman philosophers and as a result, the contemporary world.

“I too am an Epicurian. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.”

–Thomas Jefferson [Letter to William Short].

Happiness is the Aim of Life

Jefferson underlines the gentle, “rational” moral philosophy of Epicurus that rejects overindulgence and leads to peace of mind. If you cultivated close friendships, limited your desires to the essential necessities of life, and rejoiced in the moment, happiness was yours to keep. At the end of his letter Jefferson outlines a syllabus of Epicurus’ philosophy. This includes the topic “Happiness is the aim of life.”

–Mark Setton [A Classic Post Revisited: Jefferson’s Happiness (Pursuit of Happiness Blog, September 8, 2015)].