The Second Mountain

In 2019, David Brooks, author of The Road to Character and The Social Animal, published The Second Mountain, a book on community, virtue, and the committed life. A mix of self-help, advice, personal experience, and sociological data, The Second Mountain aims to present a systematic approach to a life dedicated to self-improvement through self-transcendence. Specifically, Brooks argues that there are four main avenues through which this approach to life should be accessed and adequately integrated: vocation, marriage, philosophy (or faith), and community. Together, these forms of commitments develop individual character and subsequently enhance meaning in life. Each is a route by which a person can climb “the second mountain.”

“The second mountain,” as suggested by its titular status, is the central concept of the book. Brooks develops an extended metaphor that relies on dichotomous approaches to life expressed metaphorically by two mountains. The first mountain signifies a life in pursuit of an ego ideal. Those climbing the first mountain are motivated by the pursuit of individual excellence, autonomy, and self-fulfillment. According to Brooks, there is nothing wrong with the first-mountain pursuit and ideology per se. It is, he believes, useful to a degree, especially when it is succeeded by

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