Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
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| '''"Life, [[liberty]], and the pursuit of happiness"''' is one of the most famous [[phrase]]s in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], and considered by some as part of one of the most well crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language. These three aspects are listed among the "[[unalienable rights]]" or sovereign rights of man. | '''"Life, [[liberty]], and the pursuit of happiness"''' is one of the most famous [[phrase]]s in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]], and considered by some as part of one of the most well crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language. These three aspects are listed among the "[[unalienable rights]]" or sovereign rights of man. | ||
| + | === Lockean roots hypothesis === | ||
| + | In 1689, Locke argued in' that political society existed for the sake of protecting "property", which he defined as a person's "life, liberty, and estate". In ''[[A Letter Concerning Toleration]]'', he wrote that the magistrate's power was limited to preserving a person's "civil interest", which he described as "life, liberty, health, and indolency of body; and the possession of outward things". He declared in his ''[[An Essay Concerning Human Understanding|Essay Concerning Human Understanding]]'' that "the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness". | ||
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| + | According to those scholars who saw the root of Jefferson's thought in Locke's doctrine, Jefferson replaced "estate" with "the pursuit of happiness", although this does not mean that Jefferson meant the "pursuit of happiness" to refer primarily or exclusively to property. Under such an assumption, the Declaration of Independence would declare that government existed primarily for the reasons Locke gave, and some have extended that line of thinking to support a conception of [[limited government]]. | ||
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Revision as of 17:42, 9 December 2020
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"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence, and considered by some as part of one of the most well crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" or sovereign rights of man.
Lockean roots hypothesis
In 1689, Locke argued in' that political society existed for the sake of protecting "property", which he defined as a person's "life, liberty, and estate". In A Letter Concerning Toleration, he wrote that the magistrate's power was limited to preserving a person's "civil interest", which he described as "life, liberty, health, and indolency of body; and the possession of outward things". He declared in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding that "the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness".
According to those scholars who saw the root of Jefferson's thought in Locke's doctrine, Jefferson replaced "estate" with "the pursuit of happiness", although this does not mean that Jefferson meant the "pursuit of happiness" to refer primarily or exclusively to property. Under such an assumption, the Declaration of Independence would declare that government existed primarily for the reasons Locke gave, and some have extended that line of thinking to support a conception of limited government.
