The Consolations of Philosophy

Rating:
Summary: A Gateway Book
Review: I don't care if it is philosophy for dummies, as some say -- I love this book and dip into for consolation as needed. Even better, it has sparked a deeper interest in philosophy, and I've been reading further. There's nothing wrong with making something accessible to the masses. Philosophy belongs to everyone and De Botton offers a way in to those of us who might not have taken the plunge otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: More Consolation Than Philosophy
Review: While this may well be a comfort to those in search of comfort, it is not an ideal introduction to philosophy. Sadly, this is not the first time that philosophy has been ill-served by attempts at popularization. This is yet another example of a popular text that attempts to "dumb down" the philosophy of the great philosophers and purports to extract popular moral lessons from them. This leaves a profound misimpression of what philosophy is all about.

In fairness, this approach almost works with Seneca and Epicurus, who must be seen as practical lifestyle "gurus" in the manner of afternoon talk show lifestyle advice. It is less illuminating for the likes of Schopenhauer and Nietzche.

Sadly, in trying to derive comfort from individual philosophers,it is necessary to ignore most of the serious thinkers in favor of others, who, while admirable at a certain level, distort the understanding of what philosophical thinking is all about.

The real consolation of philosophy is the oppurtunity to contemplate clearly the meaning of the important questions of life and our place in the universe. This consolation is best sought elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Witty and intellectual without being pretentious
Review: So you always wanted to take more philosophy classes in college but you didn't. Or you never went to college. Or you went to college and slept through your philosphy classes. No matter: this book is concise yet insightful -- you'll be able to more than hold your own in afterdinner conversations over froufrou wine spritzers with your Intellectual friends.

But more than cocktail conversation fodder, this book sheds new light on some of the most fundamental questions confronting not just philosophers, but you: what do I do about being unpopular? How do I handle rejection from women? Why am I frustrated in every endeavor? Read this, and be enlightened.

Plus it's got pictures

Rating:
Summary: A starting point for inquiring minds...
Review: It was the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, probably the most famous of Stoic philosophers, who wrote the following practical advice:

"Begin each day by saying to yourself, "Today I shall meet people who are interfering, ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, and selfish." They are made this way because of their ignorance of what is good and evil...but I, who have seen the nature of good and beauty, and of evil and its ugliness, know that the inner nature of the man who does evil is the same as mine, therefore I can't be harmed by any of these men, for no one can impose on me what is degrading."

In other terms, expect the worst in people, and you'll never be disappointed, and their actions will not affect you, because their nature is the same as your own.

Another Stoic philosopher, Seneca, had similar advice:

"...Philosophy can be a resolution against impending misfortune."

For Seneca, the attainment of wisdom, is learned by way of our responses to reality: "...learning not to aggravate the world's obstinacy through our own responses, through spasms of rage, self-pity, anxiety, bitterness, self-righteousness and paranoia." (p.81)

Similarly, it was the French existentialist philosopher, J.P. Sartre, who wrote:

"It is not what people do to you, it is what you do with what people do to you that matters."

In Alain De Botton' book, ~The Consolations of Philosophy~ he gleans the works of some famous philosophers, who all, curiously, lived before the twentieth century, that have applicable advice for living. Avoiding those aspects of philosophy, which can wallow in abstraction, this is practical philosophy at its best, expressed in transparent terms, easy and accessible.

~The Consolations of Philosophy~ is a pragmatic approach to 'the love of wisdom', offering age-old tenets as remedies to prevailing human conditions.

De Botton begins with Socrates on the subject of conformity and his simple formula of reason in the pursuit of truth; Epicurus on happiness and his suggestions for its attainment; Montaigne on what it means to be human, rallying against received notions of imtellectualism; Schopenhauer on love, the sex-drive or 'will-to-life' and solutions for a broken heart; Nietzsche on suffering and its uses on reaching one's full potential as a human being.

This is not so much a self-help book, but proposed ideas for us to contemplate - to possibly slip-on like a pair of old shoes to guide us on life's journey.

I was singularly impressed with the last chapter, 'Consolation of Difficulties' on Nietzsche's characteristic of a noble human being: to be someone who 'no longer denies.' To deny life's negatives is to deny an important aspect of existence that contributes to the whole. We can learn through our suffering and become stronger, enabling our full potential to manifest as a process of becoming. Suffering is a possible path to our fulfillment.

~The Consolations of Philosophy~ would be an excellent introduction to the subject for students in the middle years. As the purpose of the humanities is to create inquiring minds, getting students to question received notions concerning life, this well written book would be a welcome starting point for discussion and achieving that end. This book is both enjoyable and relevent and manages to make philosophy applicable to the everyday.

Recommended for the intiated and unintiated alike.

Rating:
Summary: Philosophy for everyone
Review: The companion piece to the British television series is a joy. The author knows a great deal of pleasure in explaining philosophy with delightful biographies of each philosopher. And each section has sage advice on differing aspects of life. His enthusiam for Nietzsche may put some people off, but then we often confuse the impact of a philospher with his actual writing.

Rating:
Summary: An overall good read
Review: I would recommend that you read Consolations of Philosophy on the train/bus or anywhere you might catch a bit of quiet.
The book is slim and extremely well written - the author has taken great care to ensure that the main points of each view are thoughtfully highlight to the reader in understandable and concise prose. Unlike other works on "ground-breaking" philosophy you will not have to reference pages 110 to 300 to understand a point made in page 411 or plough through 10 pages of dialectics to outline a point of view. An understated good read, highly recommended for the fainthearted and the frustrated.

Rating:
Summary: I agree...
Review: ...with the former review. I saw the book displayed in a bookstore and checked it out at the university library where I work. The illustrations act as fillers and quite frankly the book is aimed at a very basic overview of philosophical thought. Each chapter reads like the pretentious term-paper of a bright university/high school student. This would be adequate for the "Young Adult" or "Juvenile" section of the book store. If you are a habitual reader you might be disappointed

Rating:
Summary: should be on the short list of classic books on philosophy
Review: This book is a masterwork. I do not give praise lightly, but this book is truly outstanding. The author not only writes well and has a fine sense of humor, he also organizes the book into excellent themes. His first subject is on truth and how we find it by looking at both sides of an issue. The advice on how to think for yourself is logical and it works. The second subject is on how to live. He shows that maximum happiness is possible in this life by just getting what you need. His argument in support of this is brilliant. Most people think that the more you have, the more happiness you have. This is totally false. This would come as a shock to those who think that luxuries are needed for a happy life. They are not. If this were all to the book, it would not detract from its greatness. He also shows how to deal with the actions of fortune, dealing with difficulties and other hard things. This book should be given out to those who are starting out in life and people who need advice that is based on reality and not wishful thinking. This life is short and it makes sense to live it well. This book shows how to do it. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: The Consolation of a Good Book
Review: I learned that Alain de Botton writes beautifully from his How Proust Can Save Your Life. de Botton is clearly fascinated by philosophy and its therapeutic powers. Mind you thsi is no self-help guide. Or if it is, It's a thinking person's guide.
Philosophers are often considered to offer only abstract diatribes with little to tell us about how to live. Nonetheless, de Botton has identified a few philosophers who explain much about daily life, whtehr or not their efforts to do so were deliberate and these philosophers constitute the thrust of the book.
Arthur Schopenhauer, a pessimistic 19th century German philosopher, offers expert advice on love. Not so much Romantic love but more a biological one. If you're miserable in love blame biology says Schopenauer. We fall in love because love is the biological force that gets us to settle down and have children. de Botton also brings the ancient Greek philosophers in question with Epicurus. Already 2000 years ago Epicurus argued against what we now call consumerism - he would have been appalled at the proliferation of slef help, management guides, and customer service books - and suggested that we usually acquire things in order to supplant other.
De Botton' seems to focus his arguments around the French 17th century essayist Montaigne whom he appreciates for his wisdom, charm and sanity.
Hopefully, philosophy will make a come back and with books such as this one it has a very good chance.

Rating:
Summary: De Botton's Lesson
Review: I review only excellent books. I would never waste my time and energy reviewing works I think are less than superb because I absolutely think silence is the most powerful weapon against meaningless,low quality publications.Thus, I am delighted to write this review about the two most recent books by Alain De Botton.
Literature and philosophy transformed into key resources to live better, to create one's own life style and vision of the past, present and future.
A genuine postmodern talent to go beyond the traditional borders of the Dewey 's system integrating fiction and essay through wise open minded but at the same time methodologically accurate interpretations of great philosophical and literary authors. Umberto Eco did it in the 1980ies with "The Name of the Rose" integrating a thriller novel,an essay about religion and culture in the Middle Ages and a love story ( which is the origin of the title). Alain De Botton did it even better some years later creating this integration in his books though a more brilliant ,immediate and pleasant style.
This integration belongs to De Botton's two most recent books (as far as I know, at least ) that is "How Proust can change your life" and " The Consolations of Philosophy" two extraordinary works although "The Consolations" ,in my opinion, follow a different conceptual paradigm, I will discuss below, while "How Proust Can Change your Life" offers a more systematic vision of the book as a whole which I tried to summarize in its key lessons:

1 how to save time and appreciate life at the best is the first thing Proust tried to teach us writing La Recheche.

2reading a book is more a chance to find out more aspects of him/herself more than finding out more about the author or the text.

3 take it easy , taking great care to details

4 to understand the meaning ,the messages of illness and disease help to dig deeper in who we are and realizing which false ideas or beliefs were created by ourselves to ignore our inner and more profound needs.

5 It is easy to understand someone else' s nature by observing what bothers/disturbs him/her

6.to be oneself deeply without considering common sense and social norms as ways to make life easier : they destroy individual freedom of thinking and action.

7 To have realistic expectations about human relationships makes life easier and more authentic.

8 make love ,don't speak about it, just make it.

9 Respect authors and books but even the most important of them can be ignored or removed.

10 Beware of taking things for granted that are always around.

I think these lessons can easily be "discovered" by the readers. In a certain way they are the "pedagogic" message the author offers to the readers and the message is relatively clear. Since" How Proust.... " De Botton's style evolved through a paradigm shift into "The Consolations". Sure, both books contain a message by the author for the readers and both books can be subjectively reinterpreted by the readers beyond the author's intentions but, nevertheless, in my opinion, in "How Proust" De Botton 's will was to construct his specific interpretation of Proust 's lessons serving them to the readers while in the "Consolations " I personally se e a more complex mosaic the author never completely shows to the readers who have to individually reconstruct their own meanings for example preferring one philosopher to another or a certain concept of a thinker integrated with a different concept of another thinker in a fascinating challenge for the reader to discover him/herself .
A brilliant paradigm shift from a author - centered to a reader- centered perspective which is a great piece of evidence of the excellent evolution of this young and gifted author.