Tranquility with James Madison

Nov 4, 2025
30 mins

Episode Description

While at Princeton, James Madison was exposed to faculty psychology, the idea that balancing the different parts of the soul achieves harmony. Jeffrey Rosen, Professor Colleen Sheehan and filmmaker Ken Burns explore how Madison infused these lessons about faculty psychology into his political philosophy and embraced the notion that personal self-government is necessary for political self-government.

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Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness is made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation. © 2025 National Constitution Center. All Rights Reserved.
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