[thoughts on beauty]

We tend to forget that Jefferson was using the Aristotelian definition of 'happiness' when he included the right to the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence. The Aristotelian definition of happiness is not only different, but contrary to the modern definition. The Wiki article on Happiness opens thus: "Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including positive psychology, endeavor to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what "happiness" is, and how it might be attained. It is of such fundamental importance to the human condition that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were deemed to be unalienable rights by the United States Declaration of Independence." It goes on to speak of the many philosophical definitions of happiness, but notice that it clumps the Declaration in with the emotional definition. The modern American drastically misunderstands the right given them in the Declaration of Independence; instead of the right to a state of pleasure and whatever actions they deem necessary to achieve that, they have rather the right to lead unimpeded a "good life'"- to move the soul in accordance with virtue. The constitution does NOT give us a right to do whatever makes us feel good. It gives us a right to fulfill our chief end.