The Modern Pursuit of Happiness: Lecture by Dr. Raúl Rodriguez
About this Event
Join the Valor Institute as Dr. Raúl Rodríguez explores the pursuit of happiness in a modern age.
The Declaration of Independence states that all people are endowed with the right to pursue happiness. But what might this mean? In a world filled with so many different conceptions of the good life, along with an equal and diverse number of ways to pursue those conceptions, how can we possibly discover a sure path to happiness?
The French essayist and statesman Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) offers one possible solution. Acknowledging the diversity of life yet unwilling to accept moral relativism, he turns to the human person in his endeavor to locate happiness. In turning to our interior lives and examining our choices with moral seriousness, Montaigne suggests, we begin to understand our gifts, our limits, and the outline of a happy life.
Reflecting on Montaigne's proposal with Dr. Rodríguez, we will think more attentively about the happiness each of us pursues daily. In great decisions or mundane choices, each of us acts in accordance with a vision of the good. By looking more closely at our characters, we can begin to realize the good life to which each person is uniquely called.
For Valor's high school students, the Valor Institute will host a Dinner and Discussion after the conclusion of the lecture. Please register for the "Dinner & Discussion" ticket to ensure we have enough food prepared.
About the Speaker
Dr. Raúl Rodríguez is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University and Director of the LeFrak Forum. He received his B.A. from Furman University and his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Before arriving at Michigan State, he served as a Postdoctoral Teaching Scholar at the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government at Notre Dame as well as a Senior Fellow at the Civitas Institute and an Assistant Professor in the School of Civic Leadership at UT Austin.
Dr. Rodríguez's research and teaching focus on French and American political philosophy, with particular interest in Alexis de Tocqueville, liberalism, democracy, and the broader history of political philosophy. His writings have appeared in scholarly journals such as American Journal of Political Science, American Political Thought, The Political Science Reviewer, and The Review of Politics.
He is also the author of the forthcoming book "Redeeming Democracy: Tocqueville’s New Liberalism," which argues that Tocqueville offers a distinctive and enduring vision of liberal democracy capable of addressing many of the contemporary critiques of liberalism. Through his scholarship and leadership of the LeFrak Forum, Dr. Rodríguez seeks to cultivate serious intellectual inquiry into the moral and philosophical foundations of free government.
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