The consolations of philosophy
2000
- philosophical counseling
- philosophy, introductions
- philosophy, collected works
- conduct of life
The story
A good introduction to philosophy and the great philosophers for young people, with a short biographical note, and an analysis of how they approached the major issues of life. Chapter headings include Unpopularity, Not Having Enough Money, Frustration, Inadequacy, Broken Heart and Difficulties.The book is well annotated and lavishly illustrated. Partly a review of philosophy from Socrates to Nietzsche, and partly a self-help book.
What it’s like
Warm, unhurried and wry, with the feel of a well-thumbed hardback left open on a kitchen table. Alain de Botton's prose is conversational and clear, moving between brisk biographical sketches and gentle, personal reflection, so a reader can dip in for a single chapter and feel fully rewarded. The pages are lavishly illustrated, with paintings, portraits and marginal notes that give the book a browsable, scrapbook quality, and its chapters, named for everyday hurts like unpopularity, money worries, frustration and a broken heart, read like calm conversations rather than lectures. It suits a slow Sunday afternoon, a bedside read before sleep, or a weekend when you want consolation without a grim lesson. Its emotional register is kind and reassuring, with a quiet melancholy beneath the humour, and it follows a sequence of thinkers from Socrates through to Nietzsche as each offers a way of making peace with ordinary disappointment. Intensity is nil: no violence, no sexual content, nothing frightening, just gentle reflection. It is for curious young readers and anyone who wants philosophy that comforts and sits lightly in the hand.
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