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Some people may have issues with Alain De Botton, but I'm not one of them. Is he a little bit "precious," as one critic put it? Yes, he may be, and admittedly, his approach may not be for everyone. But that does not reduce the fact that he does modern society an inestimable service by taking concepts and issues now commonly thought to be only the domain of the elite and over-educated, and in making them both interesting and approachable to the average lay-person, reacquaints us with aspects of our cultural heritage that can have direct bearing on the happiness quotient of our quotidian lives.
The most fundamentally important aspects of our psychology - status/wealth, love/sex, art/religion, work/leisure, death and bereavement are all subjects upon which De Botton has shined the light of a classically grounded education, and The Consolations of Philosophy consists of precisely that - topics such as inadequacy, frustration, lack of money, and unrequited love are approached using concrete examples gleaned from both the lives and writings of various philosophers.
Some will, with some validity, criticize this book for its playful tone and the fact that it does not go deeper. I would agree that if you are looking for a rigorous examination and critique of a certain philosopher and his thought, this is NOT the book for you. There exist whole libraries with exhaustive in depth comparative analysis of the influence of Schopenhauer on Nietzsche and such - this is not that book. This book does very well what it does - it covers areas that commonly inhibit our peace of mind from the perspective of the experiences (mostly) and the writings (somewhat) of famous philosophers, and in doing so illustrates some valuable, even eternal truths.
Entertaining, approachable and clear, educational and enlightening - unless you are looking for a heavyweight of a tome, this is worth your time.
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I saw the TV series on public television and it had my full attention for several hours. The author provides a summary of some major philosophers by using a chronological / problem oriented format. That is, for each of chapter there is a certain philosopher and problem examined in combination. Some of the top rated reviews for this book list the challenges.
After reading from the author's other very good books, and hearing a few on CD, I conclude that Alain de Botton is trying to make historical philosophy more relevant for today and the contemporary mindset of young and middle aged people. However, one tension that could arise from using philosophy to adapt to society's circumstances is that one would become overly introverted and disengaged from public life. Then again, the consolations of philosophy can allow one to resolve certain dilemmas and then resolutely press forward on social, political and scientific goals one has reached through rational thought.
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I truly enjoyed reading this book. Very easy, and I enjoyed reading about the six philosophers. I was very happy to be introduced to them from the eye of Alain. Make sure to check the YouTube videos. I like this work. I will read more books from him. I enjoy his style of writing.
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I have a hard time rating this book because it was really hard for me to read and hard for me to enjoy. I think I just didn't understand the authors style of writing. The concepts discussed are worth understanding though.
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I first learned of this book while watching the PBS series in December 2011, that was based on this work, featuring the author Alain de Botton as host (this was a great program to stumble upon during what can often be the miasma of the holiday season!). That series, similarly to the book, was comprised of one episode dedicated to each of the 6 philosophers in question (Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche). I found this work to be a fast, enjoyable and accessible read. It was absorbing enough that I was able to read it in public amid noise and distractions. "Consolations of Philosophy" was not something that I had to labour over--the focus and intention of this books' main themes and subsequent discussions were clear. De Botton deconstructed the principal concepts of these philosophers down to their essence. And as several other Amazon reviewers have mentioned--this work functions as both an introduction to philosophy--as well as a self-help book. For anyone going through hard times in his / her life--emotionally, socially, fiscally--this book will indeed be a great "consolation".
The only philosopher whose works I had read previous to reading "Consolations of Philosophy" was Nietzsche, a writer whose books ("Birth of Tragedy", "The Case of Wagner", "Twilight of the Idols" and "Also Sprach Zarathustra"; the latter being the most memorable) I've found to be simultaneously inspiring, mystifying, and incomprehensible. I attempted to read Schopenhauer a few years ago and was repelled by him. Since completing this work by de Botton--I started to read "Selected Essays" by Michel de Montaigne (Dover Thrift Editions, 2011). But I had trouble connecting with Montaigne as well; perhaps I'll return to Schopenhauer (the moral of the story being .....Read more ›
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