Module 4 · Back Down to Earth

The driving question, your gut answer, and the four turns that made happiness modern.

Montaigne, his cat, and the invention of belonging to yourself.

How happiness stopped being a reward for the next life and became a right worth pursuing in this one.

Bentham's calculus, Mill's breakdown at twenty, and the byproduct thesis that came out of it.

The smiley face, the self-help shelf, and the moment happiness became a national statistic.