The Consolations of Philosophy - Softcover

De Botton, Alain

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140276610 ISBN 13: 9780140276619

Publisher: Penguin, 2001

Synopsis

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

One of the most influential voices in modern philosophy - the author of The Course of Love, Religion for Atheists, The Art of Travel and The School of Life

Alain de Botton presents a one-stop shop for solving the problems of everyday life through the wisdom of history's great philosophers

'Singlehandedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us live our lives' Independent

'Few discussions on the great philosophers can have been so entertaining... An ingenious, imaginative book' The Sunday Times

'Witty, thoughtful, entertaining... It manages to make philosophy both enjoyable and relevant' Anthony Clare, Literary Review

'No doubt about it, philosophy is the new rock and roll and Alain de Botton is its Colonel Tom Parker... A pleasure to read. And good writing, like good philosophy, is always a consolation' John Banville, Irish Times

Alain de Botton has set six of the finest minds in the history of philosophy to work on the problems of everyday life. Find out what Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche would say about the things that bother us all the most: lack of money, the pain of love, inadequacy, anxiety, the fear of failure and the pressure to conform.

About this title

Review

Flushed with the success of How Proust Can Change Your Life, philosophical agony uncle Alain de Botton once more matches his precocious talents to addressing the anxieties of modern life with Consolations of Philosophy. Dubbed the "Naked Philosopher", de Botton's cherubic charms match his grey matter, and this book, which has already inspired a Channel 4 series, sees him continue his one-man mission to sugar the pill of learning with his brilliant mixture of wit, wisdom and whimsy. So humans have six gurus and six concerns: Socrates on unpopularity, Epicurus on lack of money, Seneca on frustrations, Montaigne on inadequacy, Schopenhauer on a broken heart and Nietzsche on the necessity of difficulties. And then there is a seventh: de Botton himself, artfully infusing others' palliative musings with souffléd epigrams of his own, and marshalling his arguments with an insouciance that belies considerable skill. De Botton was already appealing to the likes of Wittgenstein, Aristotle and Montaigne for romantic guidance in his novels, Kiss and Tell, Essays in Love and The Romantic Movement, and with How Proust Can Change Your Life, he finally dropped the pretence of plot and concentrated on the digressions, albeit with a slightly eager charm. Where that book was dazzling, the glow of Consolations of Philosophy burns more deeply, displaying a more sober and polished application of his undoubted mental prowess, without losing his distinctive playfulness. He brings to the essay form something of what Milan Kundera brings to the novel and, like him, while still respecting the boundaries he oversteps, he hopscotches genres with spring heels. It is Montaigne whom de Botton most admires and, indeed, most resembles in style--he says of the 16th-century Frenchman: "in Montaigne's scheme of intelligence, what matters in a book is usefulness and appropriateness to life" and it's a recipe he himself assiduously and rewardingly follows. Jamie Oliver take note, dry crusts have rarely been made so appetising and digestible. --David Vincent

Review

Witty, thoughful, entertaining ... a stylish book, which manages to make philosophy both enjoyable and relevant, at the same time providing a very sensible digest of consolations for many of our current psychological ills Literary Review Single-handedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us to live our lives Independent A pleasure to read. And good writing, like good philosophy, is always a consolation -- John Banville Irish Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0140276610
• ISBN 13: 9780140276619
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272