The Second Mountain

For Brooks, a commitment is “a promise made from love” (55). Commitment is an integral aspect of the second-mountain life. It entails the decision to dedicate much of one’s life to projects, people, and communities that have moved one’s heart and soul. Commitments are decisions that have to be continuously rechosen and reenacted over long periods.

The second mountain is the metaphorical analog of a life filled with commitments to self-transcending others, like a spouse, vocation, community, or religious faith. The second mountain is characterized by resolute and humble dedication to endlessly valuable endeavors. Personal fulfillment and moral character are developed on an individual and social level in a radically gratifying manner that cannot be matched by the first mountain.

Moral joy is a more powerful feeling than pleasure or personal happiness. It is experienced by those in the midst of their second-mountain pursuits. Such people feel this joy when they are attuned to and practically act toward an intrinsic good to which they have dedicated their life. Though such joy is not their direct aim, as happiness might be the aim of a first-mountain person, it is far more powerful and spiritually rewarding.

A commitment, Brooks writes, “is making a promise to something without expecting a reward” (P). Among other things, maximal commitments involve the building of structures around primary objects of commitment such that one maintains connections even when the love that originally grounded that commitment is under strain. For Brooks, there are four primary domains for meaningful commitment-making: vocation, family/spouse, philosophy/religion, and community.

A form of maximal commitment undertaken in the context of marriage. In this case, the spousal parties embrace their mutual dependence and act with reciprocal selflessness for the good of the other. It is opposed to the individualist approach to marriage, which never fully permits commitment to the other out of a concern for personal emotional safety.

An environment wherein particular values and manners of behavior are expected and reinforced. According to Brooks, individuals can create their own moral ecologies, “a system of belief and behavior” that they express throughout their lives.