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The pursuit of happiness through virtue in depressing times [1]
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Date: 2025-07-04
It is an understatement to say that our moral compass as a democracy has been failing of late. The spirit of 1776 is alive here in Philadelphia, but it is on life support as authoritarian assholes and would-be totalitarians run amok through our civil liberties, freedom of speech, social services, national debt, public education and public health. It’s hard to keep watching and experiencing the carnage. And so on this 4th of July weekend I think it might be instructive, inspirational, and personally edifying to look back at the Founding Fathers and how they ran the show. The pursuit of happiness, a phrase immortalized in the Declaration of Independence. I will aim to apply their common blueprint for self-actualization and happiness to my own wheelhouse in primary care — trying to help people live healthier lives.
Or at least tend to the depression many of us feel right now.
A lot of the framework for this post comes from a fascinating podcast I listened to this week on my morning commute to work. Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center here in Philly, discussed the Founders’ mutual concept of happiness through virtue and self-mastery. They had intentional daily schedules and routines, self-examination practices to hone their character, and relentlessly pursued a more perfect moral stature for the times. I think all of this is quite relevant to our national holiday, to our national shameful behavior… and even to the little examining rooms in which I toil.
Let me explain.
The Founding Fathers' blueprint for their own health can be extended to our own modern pursuit of health and happiness. Although we have a tendency to romanticize the past, and all of these guys had major flaws, we might as well celebrate them this July 4th weekend and learn what we can from their examples. They overthrew a king after all, and we should want no more kings in a healthy American body politic. And when I use the terms Founding Fathers/Founders, please add luminary women like Abigail Adams, Phyllis Wheatley, and Esther Reed to that group.
Modern self-improvement advice often feels hollow, doesn’t it? Endless lists of habits and routines without a compelling reason to follow them beyond some vague notion of “wellness.” But the Founders were driven by something different: a clear why for becoming better people. For most of them, personal development wasn't about feeling good; it was about being good. And this pursuit of virtue, rooted in classical philosophy, offers a surprisingly relevant framework for modern health and well being.
I also try to use the term wellbeing, as wellness is a cheap and ruined term.
The Classical foundation: Virtue as the path to flourishing
The Founders drew heavily from ancient philosophers like Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Pythagoras. These thinkers taught that happiness wasn't about pleasure-seeking but about virtue—defined as self-mastery, and the ability to use reason to temper destructive passions and desires.
In the podcast, Jeffery Rosen reveals that when Thomas Jefferson wrote about "the pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence, he wasn't talking about fleeting pleasure but about the lifelong quest for excellence and virtue instead. Rosen wrote a whole book about this entitled The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.
The key insight from classical philosophy was the distinction between reason and passion. The goal wasn't to eliminate emotions but to moderate unproductive ones like anger, jealousy, and fear while cultivating productive ones like tranquility, prudence, and justice. This required constant vigilance and practice—much like maintaining physical and mental health today.
Do you feel like the media and political sources you follow cultivate reason, tranquility, and justice? Or have they become rotten to the core with anger, fear, and a ritual embrace of the apocalyptic, the outrageous, the violent?
PBS Newshour is about all I can take. Of course the radical folks in charge want to destroy that.
Personal excellence for public good
The Founders understood something crucial: unless individuals could master and govern themselves, they couldn't participate effectively in democratic government. Personal self-mastery was the foundation of political freedom. As Jeffrey Rosen explains: Unless we can achieve a harmony of soul in the constitution of our own minds, we won't be able to achieve similar harmony in the constitution of the state. Maybe that’s our biggest societal problem right now. We are not in control of ourselves. We’re broken and manipulated and lost to a million algorithms and influences and fears.
This same principle applies to health. Individual wellbeing isn't just personal—it's social. When we take care of ourselves, we're better able to care for others, contribute to our communities, and avoid burdening healthcare systems with preventable problems. But as they hack away at Medicaid, vaccines for kids, and once stellar-though-imperfect institutions like the CDC, NIH, ACIP, and FDA — we all stand to suffer the consequences.
The Four-Pillar Framework for Excellence
The Founders developed a systematic approach to virtue that translates surprisingly well to modern health and wellbeing:
1) Daily Learning and Deep Reading
The Founders maintained rigorous reading schedules throughout their lives. Jefferson's recommended curriculum included moral philosophy, starting before sunrise with works by classical and Enlightenment thinkers. Even in their 70s and 80s, Adams and Jefferson continued exchanging ideas about the latest books they'd read.
Modern application: Wouldn’t it be amazing to start each day with substantive reading before checking email or social media? For those of us in the fast lane, our emerging consciousness yanked out of slumber is usually doused with a bracing dose of cold headlines from our phones at 6:30 AM. Did Iran retaliate overnight? Did they pass that bill that will wreck our social safety nets, blow up the federal deficit, destroy environmental protections, and enrich Mark Zuckerberg?
F!
Even “reading” our own bodies daily by paying attention to energy levels, sleep quality, mood, and physical sensations would help reinforce healthy routines.
2) Systematic Self-Examination
Inspired by Pythagoras, who advocated nightly reflection on virtue and vice, the Founders developed structured approaches to self-assessment. Benjamin Franklin famously created his 13-virtue chart, tracking daily performance with temperance, silence, order, and other classical virtues. Each evening, he asked himself: "What good have I done today?" Since Ben is from Philly, I’ll devote a separate section below to how we might apply his 13 virtue checklist today.
Modern application: Create simple tracking systems for key health metrics—not obsessively, but mindfully. Consider tracking sleep, movement, nutrition quality, stress levels. I personally don’t like to use apps or simple charts to identify patterns, but many of my patients find that accounting keeps them accountable to themselves. Maybe ask yourself daily: "How did I care for my body and mind today? What can I improve tomorrow?" For example, last night I got a decent 7 hours of sleep, and I treated myself to a swim at the pool and a healthy dinner (though at 9PM) at an outside table at Pub and Kitchen. Philly crime and urban decline are overstated and inflated. But the rest of the work day was a grind!
3) Structured daily routines
The Founders were meticulous about time management. Franklin rose at 5 AM, full of purpose and plans. He structured his entire day around productive activities. Jefferson followed similarly demanding schedules that included reading, exercise, and reflection. Hamilton wrote passionately like he was running out of time, which he was. Don’t schedule duels.
Modern application: Our health is our schedule. Perhaps we can incorporate non-negotiable healthy habits into daily routines: more consistent sleep times, morning movement, regular meals, protected exercise time for mom, and maybe dad should get some friends on the calendar. Small, consistent actions are better than sporadic intensive efforts. If self-improvement isn't scheduled, it won't happen. Ugh.
4) Community and accountability
Self-improvement wasn't a solo journey. Franklin formed his Junto club for mutual encouragement in virtue. John and Abigail Adams engaged in lifelong correspondence about moral philosophy and character development, creating a marriage built around mutual growth and accountability. They also sold branded bibles, floated their own corrupt cryptocurrencies, and referred to other human beings as “vermin.” Oops, wrong research notes, sorry.
Modern application: Find health accountability partners—walking groups, spouses, cooking buddies, or family members committed to mutual healthier habits. Wellbeing is rarely achieved in isolation. Build relationships that support your highest aspirations rather than enable your worst habits, but don’t neglect to offer a helping hand to those not up to your speed.
~
Ok, this post is getting a bit long for DK. It was originally published on Examined, my outpost of personal sanity and primary care ideas. Join me there if you want to read the rest of the post, and my modern take on Ben Franklin’s 13 virtues.
Then subscribe to stay in the loop, and not miss any future, stubbornly virtuous posts.
Happy 4th of July, despite the devastation and darkness.
Light up your world with your inner fireworks, and don’t let the bastards keep you down.
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