Saint-Just

Summary

What Dominique Pagani mainly takes from Saint-Just is one sentence, "happiness is a new idea in Europe," which he quotes from 2016 to 2026. He presents him as a relay of Rousseau within the Revolution, Rousseau being his idol12. He reads the phrase as a sign that happiness is historically recent. It is new because it extends to the masses, whereas until then happiness had been only the enjoyment of a few34. He sees in it a formula that is in no way elitist, one that anticipates lasting happiness within reach of households and of those who work5. He also links it to the beginning of the bourgeoisie's expansion and to the emergence of a new world. In the musicosophy sessions, he makes it the reference point for understanding Mozart, Saint-Just's contemporary, and he sets it in harmony with Rabelais. In the sessions on Clouscard, he sides with Saint-Just: the world has a right to happiness, which must no longer be reserved for a minority6. He adds that this idea is becoming new again today.

1. 1Hegel on the Beach 5/52 Feb 2016 · 33:06
2. 2Work and the right to work20 May 2018 · 14:19
3. 3#13 Mozart restored2 Feb 2021 · 1:06:40
4. 4#14 Mozart once more7 Feb 2021 · 39:31
5. 5#8 Happiness and unhappiness in music11 Jan 2021 · 55:12
6. 6Worldliness in Clouscard, or “the dominant ideology”26 Apr 2023 · 2:07:32

Summary produced automatically from 26 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.