The Pursuit of Happiness
Google Image Back in the day, Catholic seminary students were required to study philosophy during their college years. It was considered to be a good preparation for the four years of theological studies that usually followed. At the seminary I attended, that included a heavy dose of the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, the 13 th century philosopher and theologian who could be said to have had the most influence on both those subjects – as well as on early scientific pursuit - in the history of academia. Frankly, I found him hard to read, though I admired him greatly, even considering him my “patron saint” because we shared our names. More about Aquinas below. Another Brooks I’ve often quoted David Brooks, the New York Times columnist and Atlantic magazine contributor in these blogs. But there’s another Brooks that also writes for the Atlantic that is at least as insightful – about modern culture, politics and life – and that’s Arthur C. Brooks, a professor of the Practice of Public L...