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The Consolations of Philosophy

By Alain de Botton

(77)

| Paperback | 9780140276619

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Critics

Flaccid fallacies

The Consolations of Philosophy Alain de Botton Hamish Hamilton, £14.99, 265pp Buy it at BOL Once, in Portugal, Alain de Botton found that he could not make love with his girlfriend. It could have been a devastating, humiliating moment, but, fortunate ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

When Nietzsche meets Delia Smith

The Consolations of Philosophy Alain de Botton Hamish Hamilton £14.99, pp265 Buy it at BOL Awaiting exectution in prison 15 centuries ago, the Roman philosopher Boethius received a visit from a phantasmal woman. He identified her as the presiding spi ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

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9 Reviews

3 people find this helpful

As described on the back of the book, De Bottom puts 6 major philosophers' thinking to use, helping us solve our mundane problems such as not having enough money or being dumped.

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s tsui said on Sep 22, 2005 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

My first Alain de Botton book - and it was a fun read! He shows that philosophy doesn't always deal with incomprehensible questions about existence. His chapters tell us what thinkers have tried to deal with unpopularity, not having enough money, frustration, inadequacy, and broken hearts. My fav ... (continue)

My first Alain de Botton book - and it was a fun read! He shows that philosophy doesn't always deal with incomprehensible questions about existence. His chapters tell us what thinkers have tried to deal with unpopularity, not having enough money, frustration, inadequacy, and broken hearts. My favorite is probably Arthur Schopenhauer - the ultimate pessimist whose life esssentially sucked until he suddenly became famous when he turned 60.

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Michaelkchan said on Nov 1, 2008 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Liked his style of writing and apparently he has really given some good thought to the selection of the philsophy fitting the subject matter. Liked some chapters e.g. on Socrates, Seneca...but doubt whether he really has offered "consolations" in all of these e.g. cannot agree to his choice of e.g. ... (continue)

Liked his style of writing and apparently he has really given some good thought to the selection of the philsophy fitting the subject matter. Liked some chapters e.g. on Socrates, Seneca...but doubt whether he really has offered "consolations" in all of these e.g. cannot agree to his choice of e.g. Schopenhauer. Rather more distressing than consoling really i.e. Nietsche. (May be my own beliefs has affected my views which would be very personal and subjective of course.)

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Judy Mama said on Sep 15, 2008 | Add your feedback

A thought provoking book by citing the stories of six great philosophers.
Consolation of Unpopulalrity, on Socrates, provides a good case study of critical thinking.
The second section, Consolation for Not Having Enough Money, is real inspiring when Epicurus said "the desire for riches should per ... (continue)

A thought provoking book by citing the stories of six great philosophers.
Consolation of Unpopulalrity, on Socrates, provides a good case study of critical thinking.
The second section, Consolation for Not Having Enough Money, is real inspiring when Epicurus said "the desire for riches should perhaps not always be understood as a simple hunger for a luxurious life, a more important motive might be the wish to be appreciated and treated nicely." This is the same insight as provided by "Wellbeing" of Tom Rath!
The next one, Consolation of Frustration, cites Seneca who proposed one main cause of frustration: mismatch of reality and expectation. It reminds me another book "the five things we cannot change"
However, the next two, consolation of inadequacy and a broken heart, on Montaigne and Schopenhauer respectively, are rather boring.
The last one, consolation of difficulties on Nietzsche, is quite insightful. It states that the sources of our greatest jous lying awkwardly close to those of our greatest pains. Just like you have to endure when you have to climb up the summit. Or to use the word of Montaigne, the art of living lies in finding uses for our adversities.

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Waleswong said on May 2, 2011 | Add your feedback

It is consolation indeed to find our own thoughts echoed across centuries.

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Shinyuin said on Jun 10, 2009 | Add your feedback

I finished this book in one sitting, I was so entranced by it! I understand that de Botton is not well thought of by "proper" philosophy scholars but I find him more than adequate as a philosophy pleb.

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Snarkattack said on May 30, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback