The Pursuit of Happiness in Early Modern Culture

3 credits · Undergraduate

A central preoccupation in early modern European culture, particularly in the eighteenth century, was that of the attainment of happiness in one’s private life and in society in general. Happiness was seen as the highest good by some thinkers - as arguably reflected, on a political level, in the American constitution - while others argued against the identification of happiness with goodness. This course will examine various literary and philosophical texts in which the pursuit of happiness in its diverse senses is an important theme. Depictions of the happy life as well as philosophical and literary critiques of the primacy given to happiness will be discussed. FORMATS: Lecture | Seminar