The Consolations of Philosophy

Enjoyable and educational read

Well written and accessible. Interesting and easy to follow. Really enjoyed the tone and the subjects chosen. Well worth it.

There is something rather special about us humans. We have a disposition for enquiry; to look closer, further and deeper. We seek to understand more and answer the questions that the cosmos presents us. But then we must understand our limits. How do we progress gracefully and curb our enthusiasm? The temptation is to know everything but sometimes its just a darn sight easier to listen to those who know more - and even though it seems the populate is being dumbed down by the pressures of capitalism and materialism the fortunate thing is that in order to sell books most of the educational material is being dumbed down to suit. I'm not taking anything away from this book, this is just a fatuous tongue-in-cheek moment. Alain De Botton knows his onions. And he's here to help. But remember Alain is just paraphrasing and is drawing from the classics. Soppy self-help fads like this are also plagiarised. Unfortunately it is a sign of the times that most of our answers have been found before and conveyed more lucidly. Enough of the reality check because in fairness to Alain this is a truly remarkable book. This is a very short introduction / dummies guide to some of the best thinkers that have come before us, and specifically the wisdom they gained through their philosophising. These are the chapters and their respective thinkers - I've given you a tasty quote so you get the idea: Unpopularity (Socrates)"It is not living that matters, but living rightly" Not having enough money (Epicurus)"It is better for you to be free of fear lying upon a pallet, than to have a golden couch and a rich table and be full of trouble" Frustration (Seneca) "a gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials" Inadequacy (Montaigne) "I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself" A Broken Heart (Schopenhauer) "to live alone is the fate of all great souls" Difficulties (Nietzsche) "that which does not kill us makes us stronger"

The title of de Botton’s book is a reference to an earlier book of the same title by Boethius, a Roman senator, who "turned to philosophy" as consolation for his feelings whilst imprisoned. "Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius, was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century. He wrote The Consolation of Philosophy in AD 523 during a one-year imprisonment he served while awaiting trial – and eventual execution – for the alleged crime of treason under the OstrogothicKing Theodoric the Great. Boethius was at the very heights of power in Rome and was brought down by treachery. This experience inspired the book which reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God, and how happiness is still attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God. It has been described as "by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen." De Botton’s book is organised into 6 sections as shown below, each with a "guiding philosopher" and their views quoted extensively in terms of advice in overcoming the specific demise or problem. Unpopularity (Socrates) Not having enough money (Epicurus) Frustration (Seneca) Inadequacy (Montaigne) A broken heart (Schopenhauer) Difficulties (Nietzsche) The section I enjoyed most was "frustration" with Seneca as my guide to overcome my own personal frustrations. Of course Seneca hadn’t anticipated the problems of an ordinary bloke utterly frustrated with all things concerning Brexit, but despite what 48% of the British population would say, I DO have enough intelligence to apply Seneca’s logic to the current situation! Let’s start with Seneca’s definition of frustration: "Though the terrain of frustration may be vast –from a stubbed toe to an untimely death ......... –at the heart of every frustration lies a basic structure: the collision of a wish with an unyielding reality." Seneca’s collisions are frustrations arising from Anger, Shock, Injustice, Anxiety and Mockery, quite a list that seems spot-on regarding modern day politics. I don’t want to give too much away about overcoming said frustrations, but this is an excellent book to understand a range of philosophers interpreting a range of human problems in an ancient and modern setting. But to round off with Seneca: "We may be powerless to alter certain events, but we remain free to choose our attitude towards them, and it is in our spontaneous acceptance of necessity that we find our distinctive freedom." It seems to me however that the words "free" and "freedom" and their practical meaning are being rapidly eroded across the western world and that will surely lead to an extreme version of frustration.

This book has helped me through some lonely nights, making me chuckle many times. It is subtly humorous but it really gives you the confidence and the reassurance you need in life, especially when your self-esteem is low or when you compare yourself to others a lot and feel inferior or worried that you will not succeed. Plus, references to Philosophy are amazing.. I'm a Philosophy student who studies the theories of philosophers but this brings you into their weird lives and personal characters, into their weird failures and misfortunes, into their thoughts and their little revolutions. It also made me realize that Schopenhauer, the founder of pessimist philosophy, is literally me... made me seriously consider whether I am a reincarnation of him. xD

Despite my accumulating interest in philosophy it can be quite challenging for me to read original works of well-known philosophers, especially when they begin to discuss their theories in-depth. I always find Alain de Botton’s works, his books and his video contents online alike, exceptionally great because he can always build that bridge from immense knowledge that can often be difficult to grap to contents that can easily be digested without reducing quality. He is also a great writer and easily humanize personalities of philosophers and other well-known characters who otherwise always seem a little bit “historical” to me. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Second copy. A good read for those who are interested in this subject

Putting thoughts on such huge book is not easy though :) Huge thanks and applaud to Alain De Botton for bringing such fantastic work for all of us. I find this book particularly useful and relevant in today's times. The ideas presented here belongs to western philosophy and its finest philosophers. they'd have been uninteresting or not particularly useful otherwise if we'd not have been living in today's times that's shaped by globalized world where most of us constantly find ourselves confronting with multiple life styles, ideologies, theories, work cultures and immense media onslaught bombarding our minds with all of these at once. If not for help, at least one must be searching for consolation in such immensely testing times for an individual mind. You need this book anyway :) Each of the carefully chosen and equally beautifully presented idea here, practically helps one to deal with critical life defining aspects that bother us all in our day to day lives. or as one comment goes: ...has set six of the finest minds in the history of philosophy to work on the problems of everyday life. Here then are Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on some of the things that bother us all: lack of money, the pain of love, inadequacy, anxiety, the fear of failure and the pressure to conform. final vote: I liked this book. Many other could find a consolation like I did. The teachers are extraordinary ....the learning is invaluable!

Leitura super interessante. Um dos melhores livros que já li... várias reflexões sobre pontos super importantes.

I like it very much, widely illustrated and funny reading, this book has became a very part of my collection and my ideas. This book is an excellent way to start in understand phillosophy. The chapters are very long, but very interesting to read all them.

It's a pleasure to read this author's pages because he can let you understand complicated concepts without using philosophical terms. I've just started reading it, but I'm pretty sure I'll finish it soon.

哲学の本は今まで数冊に挑戦しましたが途中で挫折して玩味、読了したものはありませんでした。 たまたま見つけた本書は私の能力でも読み終えることが出来ました。今、再読中ですが私にとっては再読させるほど価値のある内容でした。 作者は身近な事柄を題材に取り、読者（人間）の悩みに就いて六人の哲学者を通して解決の指針を示しています。哲学は単なる頭脳ゲームではなく、人間生活の役に立つのが本来の役目であるとの著者の信念がうかがえます。 翻訳本ですので分かりづらい表現もありますが、内容は哲学書の分析、説明に堕することなく読者に深い感銘を与える好著です。