The passion for happiness

"Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) and David Hume (1711-1776) shared common ground as moralists. Adam Potkay traces their central concerns to Hellenistic philosophy, as conveyed by Cicero, and to earlier moderns such as Addison and Mandeville." "In their writings, Johnson and Hume largely agree on what flourishing means for both human beings and the communities they inhabit. They also tell a common story about the history that led up the enlightened age of eighteenth-century Europe."--BOOK JACKET.