On spending one’s chips: Reason, restlessness, and the pursuit of happiness

Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey, both professors in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University, draw from their book, “Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment,” in an article appearing on ABC Religion & Ethics. They delve into a kind of “restless paralysis” faced by people who are on the cusp of making life-altering choices, an exercise they compare to “spending your chips.”

They say these kinds of decisions, or wagers, “need not be leaps in the dark. Reason rightly deployed may lead us to hopefully, lovingly, and courageously bet our lives on a marriage, a church, and a vocation.”

Benjamin Storey is the Jane Gage Hipp Professor of European and American Political Thought, Politics and International Affairs, and the Director of the Tocqueville Program at Furman University.

Jenna Silber Storey is Assistant Professor in Politics and International Affairs, and the Executive Director of the Tocqueville Program at Furman University.