Moses Mendelssohn and the Dangers of National Happiness

Abstract

In his essay “On the Question: What is Enlightenment?” (1784), Moses Mendelssohn uses the term “national happiness” (Nationalglükseligkeit) in a clearly negative sense. However, during the course of Mendelssohn's reflective work the notion of happiness plays a positive role and is well considered in line with many other philosophical perspectives of the Enlightenment. This essay aims to present some ideas about the nuances that the idea of happiness acquires in Mendelssohn's work.