Renan prized sterile scholarly happiness over embodied sexual pleasure

Evidence

According to Renan, a philologist ought to prefer bonheur to jouissance: the preference expresses a choice of elevated, if sterile, happiness over sexual pleasure. Words belong to the realm of bonheur, as does the study of words, ideally speaking. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 378

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Renan’s bonheur/jouissance distinction as foundation for his philological worldview — a vocabulary term carried forward into the critique.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 378
• XREF: connects to: Epicurean philosophy teaches need-limiting rather than indulgent pleasure — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 147; Renan’s exceptionalism located man’s freedom precisely in his scholarly-imposed chains — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 378; DeMan’s ascetic aesthetics contrast sharply with Barthes’ sensuous indulgence — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 560 (+1 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Epicurean philosophy teaches need-limiting rather than indulgent pleasure — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 147; Renan’s exceptionalism located man’s freedom precisely in his scholarly-imposed chains — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 378; DeMan’s ascetic aesthetics contrast sharply with Barthes’ sensuous indulgence — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 560 (+1 more)