In Pursuit of Happiness
Perfecting reason, practicing virtue, and making true friends.
In my philosophy class, I have been reading a lot of Descartes, Poullain, and interpretations thereof. In the course of my study of these philosophers, I have seen the two Cartesians described as “neo-Stoics” by contemporary philosophers such as Martina Reuter. The primary texts my class has covered on Descartes and Poullain are almost entirely focused on their metaphysics and epistemology but, in conducting further research for my final paper on Cartesian individualism, secondary sources have referenced their ethics. While not the focus of my paper, I have found Descartes’ and Poullain’s description of virtue to be resonant. Perhaps the reader will resonate with the following quotes:
The first part of this Descartes quote strikes me as pretty much a truism. It seems that the basis for virtue cannot be that we are never mistaken—otherwise we are all doomed to moral failure. Instead, we must be resolute in doing those things which we not infallibly judge with our (limited) reason to be the best course of action at the time the decision must be made. The second part of the quote is more bold, and Stoic, but strikes me as even more profound. If virtue truly is sufficient to render us content, what is virtue?
Descartes believes that virtue is the process of perfecting our reason. The tense of the verb is not accidental but essential to Descartes’ conception of virtue. Our reason will never be perfect; we exist for a finite time with limited intellect, focus, memory, etc. Instead, it is the process, the endeavoring to perfect, the pursuit of perfecting our reason that is virtue and, consequently, contentment. Poullain’s conception of virtue is slightly different from Descartes’:
Defining “inner freedom” is a Herculean task and one which I’m sure Poullain handles with grace but I have not read enough of him to answer this question at this time. I am perfecting my understanding of Poullain’s philosophy and it has not, nor will it ever be, perfect. Although, I do intend for it to be sufficiently perfect to answer in a future post what precisely Poullain means by “inner freedom.”
Back to Descartes’ conception of virtue!
Over the past couple of weeks, as I have become increasingly engaged in campus life, clubs, and extracurricular activities, I have had the distinct pleasure of honing my reason through discussions with thoughtful peers in a variety of contexts. The contentment that these conversations produced in me was so great that I even had sufficient metacognition to recognize the positive affect they produced in me at the time. Retrospect confirms this judgment.
This post is beginning to meander so I will wrap things up as parsimoniously as I can: as Marcus Aurelius either apocryphally or actually said, it truly does take “very little to live a fulfilled and happy life.” That very little, in my experience, consists of practicing virtue by perfecting one’s reason. One perfects reason not in isolation but through dialogue with other thoughtful individuals keen on perfecting their own reason. The added benefit of engaging in this dialogical process, this happy intellectual commerce (to abuse ideas from Adam Smith), is the formation of true friendships based on the meeting and intermingling of minds. I am grateful to all of my true friends whose minds have touched mine and vice versa. I wish all my readers such friendship and contentment.
And we are grateful for you!