Today I’d like to talk about Alain de Botton’s best selling “The consolations of philosophy” which came out back in 2000, accompanied by a TV series. It’s a charming book and easy to read – unusual for a book on philosophy. With every paragraph numbered, and gallons of illustrations, sometimes several to one page, some might feel this is dumbing down, but I love his original and engaging style.
Many philosophers don’t confront with the real challenges of our lives. Reading Kant, Wittgenstein or Heidegger is unlikely to impact in any way how we make decisions or cope with the problems life throws up. But there are a number of philosophers who concerned themselves precisely with how to lead a fulfilling life. Botton’s mission was to summarise for us what some of these great names of the past had to say of practical utility. He picked on six philosophers, and for each one he identified the main issue for which they offered guidance or consolation. I will briefly sketch out what he said about each one, but there’s nothing better than to get hold of a copy of this wonderful little book.
1 – Socrates (469-399BC, Athens) on self-confidence
A consolation for unpopularity
Socrates would wander about the marketplace of Athens annoying everyone with his questions. He would challenge common sense ideas with his “Socratic method”, often picking on exceptions and in so doing leading his interlocutors to broaden their ideas. He saw himself as a “midwife” to deliver clearer thinking. He stood for independent thought and challenging the worldview of the majority.
2 – Epicurus (341-270BC, Athens) on happiness
A consolation for not having enough money
Fulfillment in life is not achieved through decadence or material goods (consumerism) but through three things:
- friendship
- being self-sufficient (not working for someone else!)
- leading an analysed life
On this third point, which Socrates would surely agree with, our anxieties are often disproportionate to our problems if looked at clearly. This even applies to death. Reflect on the time before we were born and we’ll see there’s nothing to fear.
3 – Seneca (4BC-65AD, Rome) on anger
A consolation for frustration
A proponent of stoicism, Seneca advised to meet the troubles of life with equanimity. It also helps to mentally prepare yourself for the worst . Seneca even suggested we swallow a toad every morning so as to be sure we wouldn’t see anything more disgusting for the rest of the day!
The sections of the book under “a Senecan dictionary of frustration” are “anger”, “shock”, “sense of injustice”, “anxiety” and “feelings of being mocked by inanimate objects”.
4 – Montaigne (1533-1592, Bordeaux) on self-esteem
A consolation for inadequacy
Montaigne felt our idea of humanity was too exalted and he wanted to burst our pride. With Rabelaisian wit and brutal honesty, he wanted us to recognise our true condition – “Kings and philosophers shit, and so do ladies”. The education system was corrupt – it taught facts and not wisdom – and he thought travel was vital to broaden the mind.
The book includes sections on sexual inadequacy, cultural inadequacy and intellectual inadequacy (with subsections “what clever people should know”, “what clever people should sound and look like”, “where clever people should get their ideas from”).
5 – Schopenhauer (1788-1860, Frankfurt) on love
A consolation for a broken heart
According to Schopenhauer, the purpose of falling in love was to reproduce the next generation, and the traits we look for (at an unconscious level) in a mate are at variance with those we would seek in a friend. Hence the heartache. He urged us not to be surprised when things don’t work out.
We are often miserable because we compare ourselves with others, but we should realise that most people are miserable at one time or another.
“There is only one inborn error, and that is the notion that we exist in order to be happy. So long as we persist in this foolish inborn error, the world will seem to us full of contradictions.”
6 – Nietzsche (1844-1900, Basel) on hardship
A consolation for difficulties
Nietzsche felt that struggle and suffering were often necessary evils on the pathway to greatness. His idea of the “superman”, misunderstood and misappropriated by the Nazis, was personified by people like Goethe who achieved their full potential intellectually and emotionally. Nietzsche’s view was that such supermen could only achieve greatness at the cost of great suffering. On this basis he was therefore against anything which dulled the pain. He famously declared that there were two narcotics in Western Civilisation: drink and Christianity. Drink makes you forget your problems, and the New Testament celebrates poverty and meekness.
Further reading and watching
Botton’s TV series ‘Philosophy – a guide to happiness” can be found on YouTube here: YouTube playlist
And here’s the link to the book on amazon: the book
We can turn to Alain de Botton’s other books, including “How Proust can change your life” and “Status anxiety”, for further works that bring a philosophical analysis to the practical challenges of life.