“The rub is that the pursuit of happiness, as an end in itself, tends automatically, and widely, to be replaced by the pursuit of pleasure with a consequent general softening of the fibers of will, intelligence, spirit.”

I like it, great perspective

The dilemma is one of short term vs. long term. Pleasure being short term and happiness long term. All work and no play makes us dull. All play and no work makes us dull.

Miserable people tend to pursue pleasure instead of happiness because they've lost sight of what they want and need. Society in the last half century has become characterized by a softened will, intelligence, and spirit because people have bought the lie of happiness through consumption that is pedaled to us in commercials and media propaganda.

Alexis de Toqueville on soft tyranny: "The will of a man is not shattered, but softened, bent, guided: men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained by it from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies the people..." The same can be said for slavery to pleasure.

reformed commies have a place, but not here.

Nice distinction between happiness and pleasure.

To the sane individual the strengthening of the will, intelligence, and spirit is what the pursuit of happiness is all about. Strengthening these "fibers"and observing their development gives us the basis to form the foundation of our productiveness and guiding principles to that product, a fully fledged adult human being.