In this episode, I speak with Brandon Smith, an FRQSC postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Institute for Research in the Humanities, who earned his PhD in Philosophy from McGill University in 2024. His research examines the history and applicability of philosophical accounts of happiness, and his first book, The Search for Mind-Body Flourishing in Spinoza’s Eudaimonism, is forthcoming in Brill’s New Research in the History of Western Philosophy series.

We trace a historical arc of ideas about pleasure and the good life, moving from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle through the Stoics and Epicureans, and into early modern debates with Descartes, Hobbes, and Spinoza. Brandon explains how the Stoics treat pleasure as neither good nor bad in itself, why Epicurus distinguishes the calm pleasure of healthy functioning from the thrill of satisfying a want, and how Spinoza reframes pleasure as the feeling of increased self-expressive power that supports flourishing across a whole life. We also look at the worry that pleasure can mislead, and how a hierarchy of pleasures helps separate short-lived impulses from sustainable well-being.

I ask how these frameworks shape everyday choices and public ideals, from addiction and shame to policy and education. Brandon argues that flourishing is both objective and subjective, grounded in facts about human functioning while also requiring lived awareness. We end by connecting this to classrooms and culture, asking how a richer account of pleasure and meaning can help people learn, collaborate, and live well.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction: Who is Brandon Smith and what drew him to the philosophy of happiness
03:00 – What it means to study happiness historically and philosophically
07:00 – The ancient roots of eudaimonia: from Socrates to Aristotle
12:00 – Aristotle’s idea of flourishing and the life of rational activity
17:00 – Stoicism: virtue, detachment, and the neutrality of pleasure
22:00 – Epicurus and the distinction between active pleasure and calm tranquility
27:00 – Misunderstanding Epicureanism: pleasure as simplicity, not indulgence
32:00 – The tension between desire, control, and the moral suspicion of pleasure
37:00 – How Christianity and modern moral theory reframed pleasure as suspect
42:00 – Spinoza’s revolution: joy as an increase in the power to act
47:00 – Pleasure, reason, and the harmony of mind and body
52:00 – Why Spinoza rejects dualism and reframes happiness as understanding
57:00 – The difference between momentary joy and lifelong flourishing
1:02:00 – Modern echoes: how psychology and ethics return to ancient ideas
1:07:00 – Can happiness be taught? What education can learn from eudaimonism
1:11:00 – Flourishing beyond utility: meaning, community, and freedom
1:16:00 – Closing reflections: the art of living well in a restless age
1:20:00 – Final takeaway: happiness as the joyful exercise of understanding