What the Declaration of Independence really means by 'pursuit of happiness'
By Laura Douglas-Brown | Emory Report |
June 28, 2016
Religion professor Brent Strawn advocates
for a "thick" understanding of happiness that includes social
concerns and even encompasses sorrow.
Editor's note: Since this interview was
originally published on June 30, 2014, it has consistently ranked among the
most read articles in the Emory News Center. As the Fourth of July holiday
again approaches, Emory Report spoke with Professor Brent Strawn about why a
"thick" understanding of "the pursuit of happiness" may be
even more important in our current political climate. His additional answers
appear at the end of the interview.
More than just fireworks and cookouts, the
Fourth of July offers an opportunity to reflect on how our founders envisioned
our new nation — including the Declaration of Independence's oft-quoted
"unalienable right" to "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness."
But our contemporary understanding of
"pursuit of happiness" is a thinner, less meaningful shadow of what
the Declaration's authors intended, according to Brent Strawn, who teaches
religion and theology in Emory's Candler School of Theology and Graduate
Division of Religion.
"It may be that the American Dream, if
that is parsed as lots of money and the like, isn't a sufficient definition of
the good life or true happiness. It may, in fact, be detrimental,"
notes Strawn, editor of "The Bible and the Pursuit of Happiness: What the
Old and New Testaments Teach Us About the Good Life." (Oxford University
Press, 2012)
As Independence Day nears, Strawn discussed
what "pursuit of happiness" is commonly thought to mean today, what
our founders meant, and how a "thick" understanding of happiness can
be a better guide for both individuals and nations.
The Declaration of Independence guarantees
the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." What do
you think the phrase "pursuit of happiness" means to most people who
hear it today?
Read more at http://news.emory.edu/stories/2014/06/er_pursuit_of_happiness/campus.html
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