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Loading... The Consolation of Philosophyby Alain De Botton
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This was a fantastic introduction to the world of philosophy. The author took six great philosophers and laid them out in a way that is easy to relate to. I now plan on reading a few more books on the subject! (  ) fillechaude | Feb 20, 2009 |  A review of some of the greatest minds through history. Borrowing some of their inspiration to address some of the issues that troubles our minds and causes us anxiety. Don't know any other book from the author, but if they are as near as good as this one I'm sure to look for them. This book got some cyclopean minds on, that on other texts wouldn't be as near as accessible as they are in this book. One of my favorite bits from Seneca, one of the philosophers from the book: "wisdom lies in correctly discerning where we are free to mold reality according to our wishes and where we must accept the unalterable with tranquility" (  ) AndresF | Jan 18, 2009 | In "The Consolations of Philosophy", Alain de Botton takes six every day problems - unpopularity, money worries, frustration, inadequacy, a broken heart and difficulties - and uses the thoughts of six philosophers - Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzche respectively - to try and provide comfort to readers and to show how their works are still relevant to the modern world. As someone who has never read any philosophical works, I found this an informative book and, whilst I suppose de Botton is probably grossly simplifying these men's thoughts, it might well inspire me to seek the original texts out. The structure isn't perfect. The sections are rather vague and each thinker's philosophy is, I suspect, being shoehorned into fitting into them. The book is scattered with generally fairly pointless illustrations and each section is divided up differently, so sometimes the book feels a bit messy. Also, perhaps inevitably on this subject, de Botton comes out with stuff that would fit snugly into Private Eye's "Pseuds Corner" column. As a basic introduction to and attempt to popularise philosophy this is, if nothing else, a valuable work, and also a very easy read when one considers some of the subjects being tackled. (  ) Grammath | Jan 14, 2009 | I would recommend this to anyone who can't see 'the point' of philosophy. I found this book not just fascinating and enjoyable, but also *useful*. ( ) cherien | Nov 22, 2008 | This book affected me in a curious way. I was previously familiar with Stoic philosophy, but reading a bit more about Seneca and Epicurus seemed to result in a new satisfaction with my current situation. This is a relatively lightweight philosophy discussion, with many cute photographs, and organized around problems of life, with a philosopher to match. Socrates with consolation for unpopularity, Epicurus for not having money, Seneca for frustration, Montaigne with advice on inadequacy. Most curious was Schopenhauer on a broken heart, since he had a unique view of romantic love as being driven by the biological necessity of finding the correct mate. Nietzsche appeared as counsel for difficulties. The keyword for this book is "philosophical counseling" and it appears to be in reference to the new idea of engaging a philosopher for counseling rather than a psychiatrist. The book was quite easy, and went very quickly. ( ) neurodrew | Aug 31, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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What was stunning about the Proust book was de Botton's brazen annexing of a hallowed novelist to address lite emotional problems. That format is less arresting when applied to the philosophers, since which earnest philosophy major has not, from time to time, tried to apply the alpine heights of thought to his own humble worries? Usually, sophomoric attempts to turn to, say, Kant for advice on love tend to be unmitigated disasters. In de Botton's case, however, he is able to find consolation for a broken heart in Schopenhauer, consolation for inadequacy in Montaigne. Epicurus, usually associated with a love of luxury, is a solace for those of us without much money--and de Botton learns from him that "objects mimic in a material dimension what we require in a psychological one. We need to rearrange our minds but are lured towards new shelves. We buy a cashmere cardigan as a substitute for the counsel of friends."
Lest the reader become burdened by all this philosophizing, the book is peppered with illustrations--the section on Nietzsche of course includes a DC Comics drawing of Superman. And it's further leavened by the author's personal anecdotes and winning confessional tone. Early on, for instance, he admits his own gnawing need for popularity: "A desire to please led me to laugh at modest jokes like a parent on the opening night of a school play." Before he became a medicine man for the soul, de Botton was a first-rate novelist, and it shows in his writing. --Claire Dederer
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:24 -0400)
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