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Dec 18, 2011

Gordon rated it:

Alain de Botton is a kind of Everyman’s philosopher – which is exactly how I like my philosophers. (In fact, he teaches philosophy at the University of London). The book is a quick romp through a half-dozen philosophers, from Socrates to Nietzsche, by applying their philosophies to the author’s everyday problems. For example, he explains Epicurus’ thought in relation to his own issues about wanting material things. Much to my surprise, Epicurus turns out to have little to do with the hedonis More...

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Sep 25, 2010

Joe rated it:

I have read quite a few of the original works from all the philosophers covered in this book; this nails the relevent ideas and is waaaaaay easier to read. This book could and should replace the entire pop psychology and self help sections of any bookstore. Botton reveals the truth that most of the ideas authors of those genres have been slinging around and re-using for so long were actually written a long long time ago. His format works best here and shows us that philosophy is not some far More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

Aaron rated it:

Concise, relevant, down to earth, pragmatic.

The spin of the book is that philosophy can help you overcome obstacles in your life (unpopularity, poverty, frustration and a broken heart among others). It's a cute angle, but not to be taken too seriously.

This book is a refresher, a booster injection to remind you of the contributions put forward by a handful of thinkers. A wholesome tidbit before tackling Sophie's World or similar.

This shot contains: Socrates, Ep More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

Keegan rated it:

Now, you may laugh, but I thought this was one of the best philosophy-related books I've ever read. I recognize that it's pretty basic, a little silly, etc., but for some reason it did it for me. It's short and sweet and it humanizes otherwise esoteric knowledge.

After I blazed through this book one evening, I went on to read the actual writings of Epicurus, Nietzsche, and Montaigne. It was the spark I needed to get me reading philosophy again.

I heartily recommend it. :

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2011

Isabel rated it:

Muy buen libro para quienes se quieran iniciar en la filosofía, con una lectura sencilla se explican las teorías de los grandes filosofos aplicadas a nuestra vida diaria. Alain de Botton se basa en que la vida de los filósofos estuvo llena de dificultades y su actitud ante éstas se convierte en un ejemplo a seguir.

Sócrates nos enseña que a pesar de que la sociedad tenga creencias
aceptadas por todos no necesariamente son correctas y en ese caso lo mejor es seguir fiel a nuestra More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

Todd rated it:

This is a strange and enjoyable mixture of philosophy and self-help (and potty words!), divided neatly into six philosophers and six vexing problems. They can be read in any order. I couldn't wait for Nietzsche (the last section) so I skipped ahead and read that fourth instead of sixth.

Here are the six philosophers and the corresponding issues:
Socrates => Unpopularity
Epicurus => Material Want
Seneca => Anger
Montaigne => Feelings of Inadequac More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

eva rated it:

i think if i'd ever read much philosophy, i would have found this boring & superficial, not to mention repetitive - i wish it had been either much longer/more in-depth or much shorter/more fucking concise. and i wavered between liking de botton's writing style and finding it unbelievably twee and condescending.

but as a poppy overview it was still enjoyable and educational. the progression of philosophers was nicely done: just as i was starting to get irritated with a particular viewp More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 13, 2011

Ilario rated it:

Un manuale di filosofia spicciola: quanti se ne trovano sugli scaffali delle nostre librerie, che strillano dalla copertina promesse di pronta felicità e profonda comprensione dell’umana insoddisfazione in appena duecento pagine ? Niente di tutto questo. Eppure scrivere di filosofia con poche parole - mentre i media si profondono in mille informazioni -, è impresa assai ardua: uno stile colloquiale ci porta istintivamente a diffidare (vedi Luciano de Crescenzo) dei contenuti proposti come “seri More...

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Aug 19, 2011

Ergun rated it:

I finished reading The Consolations of Philosophy, by Alain De Botton, a great modern thinker.

De Botton takes us to a journey in the garden of philosophy and gives us consolations for unpopularity (Socrates), not having enough money (Epicurus), frustration (Seneca), inadequacy (Montaigne), a broken heart (Schopenhauer), and difficulties (Nietzsche) buy looking at tragic life stories of these great philosophers. Ironically each one of these men witnessed the drama of integrity of More...

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Aug 06, 2011

David rated it:

A mate, Pete, on a rare overnight visit a couple of years ago, gave me this book. Being the ‘naturally’ very polite boy I am, I thanked him sincerely while my mind wondered why he gave it to me (not a gift so much, but this particular book). Sure, while we were at Uni, most of Pete and my conversations were conducted in a dribbling, esoteric, chaotic manner as we espoused our philosophic stance on all things that our Guinness (the thinking Man’s drink) plugged into our alcoholically sponged brai More...

10 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Kym rated it:

Surprised by how much I enjoyed this. His approach to the consolations provided by some of the major thinkers is respectful but not overly reverent. He also provides an insight into the lives of the philosophers themselves.

"Montaigne might have begun writing to alleviate a personal sense of loneliness, but his book may serve in a small way to alleviate our own. One man's honest, unguarded portrait of himself - in which he mentions impotence and farting, in which he writes More...

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Nov 06, 2011

Daniela rated it:

Další z knížek, které se věnují popularizaci filozofie. Autor šikovně aplikuje dílo a přesvědčení Sokrata, Epikura, Senecy, Michela de Montaigne, Schopenhauera a Nietzscheho na každodenní situace, text je prosycen zajímavými úryvky z děl těchto velikánů.

Můj zájem o filozofii byl vždy velice povrchní, měla jsem ji za nepotřebnou věc, takové košaté plkání o elementárních pravdách, jenže vtip je v tom, že ačkoli ty pravdy známe, nedokážeme je pojmenovat, a to je právě úkolem filozofie.
More...

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Dec 28, 2010

Eddie rated it:

A novel approach to delivering philosophy the masses. But an understanding of the philosophers this does not give, though the author certainly wouldn't say so. Instead of a book for philosophy-minded people (or perhaps for enjoyment) this book is really geared to give to your dad who questions your choice of a philosophy major. Or perhaps the therapists who wants more ways of talking about common human conditions. However since there are innumerable stories to use, and who has the time to re More...

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Sep 25, 2010

Pedram rated it:

A classy Philosophy-for-all book by Alain de Botton;really shocking the style is an enigmatic combination of easy and sophisticated;trying to follow the sole philosophical approach to every day life matters.i feel the whole book follows the same goal.
Personally i enjoyed Schopenhauer part the most
Reading "The Consolations of Philosophy" was a unique memorable experience for me.

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Sep 28, 2011

Pam rated it:

I wanted to read a contemporary take on my most favorite books of all times.Read "the REAL",Consolation of Philsophy by Boethus while in High School (60's).
I liked his style of writing,it was more entertaining than the original one_which was hard to grasp at the time in High School.But ,I don't think his title was meant to be a copy of the essence of that book.Botton interspersed the Great Philosophers of the times to make his point.Schopenhauer on a broken heart,Epicures on cash More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Stephen rated it:

I first learned of this book while watching the PBS series in December 2011, that I assume 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 six philosophers in question (Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche). I found this work to be a fast, enjoyable and acc More...

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Mar 12, 2011

Susan rated it:

Rock n Roll of Philosophy for sure. Alain De Botton really gives philosophy a good going over. He makes what he has to say basically indisputable and you are left with a feeling of "hell yeah!" It really is like when you leave a rock concert and you're thinking Power to the man, F*** life for being such an arse! And then you stop and think (after the initial excitement has dissipated) Actually my life is nothing like socrates I'm not forced to drink some crap to kill myself or anything More...

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May 12, 2011

Conner H. rated it:

Simple premise: Examine, in plain and humorous language and pictures, the "use" of philosophy. One philosopher per chapter.
Exciting and fun and everything you've ever wanted in a pop-philosophy book...until the last two chapters.
Why?
1. Because Schopenhauer isn't up to snuff with the rest of the philosophers; I'm not sure why he's included.
2. Because all de Botton really offers via that chapter is sociobiology - out of place in this book, and shallow.
3. Th More...

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Jan 15, 2011

Heather rated it:

Liked
This book made me feel both comforted and compelled. I wanted to read it more often than I had uninterrupted stretches of time to devote to it. I loved revisiting philosophers that I haven't read since college (and sometimes struggled with the first time around). I loved the pictures of Nietzsche moustache. The writing was clear and spoke to a modern audience. The entire work was short and quick to get through.

Didn't Like
It was a bit reductive and may have done More...

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Feb 04, 2012

Jay rated it:

Y'know, it's not that I didn't enjoy this book- I've read some Alain de Botton books in the past and have enjoyed them. I think it's mostly that philosophy was something I enjoyed a lot in the past, particularly as a child when I read Sophie's World and was astounded and marveled and thought it was so deep and interesting. Now I just can't be bothered dealing with it.

But this is a good layman's book, and sums up some of the main philosopher's theories in a few paragraphs. More...

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Oct 26, 2011

Darran rated it:

This is a good book which helps to explain why reading philosophy could help in improving your everyday life. It's sort of a self help book and it is aimed accordingly at a general readership. Some intellectual snobs hate this book and Alain de Botton for trying to be accessible it I don't see what is wrong with trying to open philosophy up to a wider audience. Besides I'm interested in the kind of philosophers who could effect the way you think and behave in life, like the people he writes abou More...

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Sep 05, 2011

Jason rated it:

The final of de Botton's books I have read recently, I really enjoyed this work. In this extremely tractable reader, de Botton introduces some of the most influential philosophers since antiquity and grounds their ideas in humor and contemporary circumstances. Part history, part philosophy, I enjoyed learning about the lives of these 6 philosophers, successful or not.

The major difficulty I find in reading these works is the dissatisfaction that philosophy is only an exercise of the min More...

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Sep 25, 2010

Stephen rated it:

Not a substitute for the original texts.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Chhanda rated it:

new year's ( 2012) first book. and it is a gem. i had always wished some education in humanities like philosophy, later on tried to dig through on my own but found it too hard. This book is definitely not cliff notes for phil 101, but a wonderful intro into some great thinkers of our age. how much wisdom they can share with us, how unlucky most of us are that we can't access them. whether you believe in their sayings or not, definitely read through, perhaps you may even get some solace and usefu More...

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May 13, 2011

Tom rated it:

There's something a little disingenuous about this whole thing: as if I wouldn't be interested in reading concise, clear articulations of the salient theories of some of humanity's finest thinkers unless they could do something for me. And indeed the book is least successful as a self-help treatise, presenting its arguments fleetingly and dispassionately: de Botton is obviously far more interested in having a nice chat than he is in solving all his audience's problems. Which is as it should be, More...

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Aug 12, 2011

Derek rated it:

De Botton's thesis is that philosophy is and should be relevant to everyday lives. As evidence, he takes us through the centuries, exploring the lives and works of a handful of philosophers from Socrates to Nietzche, finding gentle homilies to console us for our many woes.

At the end, I'm ambivalent. On the one hand, the book is perhaps little more than a middle-brow, pretentious airport self-help paperback. On the other hand, the book is more learned and more informative than my critic More...

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Oct 01, 2010

Claire rated it:

I really, really enjoyed this book, and would like to read more (everything?) by de Botton. A very approachable take on philosophy, a very sophisticated take on self-help, a very realistic take on psychology...all of these things, and more. I really admired the model, and the writing style. Some of the chapters were better than others (good: Seneca, Socrates, Epicurus; less good: Montaigne, Schopenhauer; in between: Nietzsche). Altogether, a really interesting take on the essay as a form, a real More...

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Mar 05, 2011

Shayda added it

این کتابو یه عزیری عید امسال(1389)از یه کتاب فروشی نقلی توی درکه! برام خرید. به عنوان عیدی! بخش پنجمش که در باب تسلی بخشی قلب شکسته س جالبه.. فیلسوفی رو که توی زمینه ی مباحث مربوط به عشق انتخاب کرده آرتور شوپنهاوره که خوب بدبین ترین فیلسوفه. جالبیش اینه که توی این بخش می گه همه ی فلاسفه مقوله ی عشق رو یه مقوله ی پیش پا افتاده می دونن انقدر پیش پا افتاده که اصلا به خودشون زحمت ندادن در موردش حرف بزنن چون عشق رو چیزی کاملا جدا و منافی با عقل می دونن. تنها فیلسوفی که یه حرف هایی در این باره زده شوپ More...

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Sep 25, 2010

Laura rated it:

"The Consolations of Philosophy" was forced into my hands by my friend, Lauren, and I think that that's the way this book can only be read. I don't know a single person who, when asked to read a book of his/her choice, picked up a book on the subject of philosophy. (I am, of course, discounting the philosophy professor that I had sophomore year of college).

I digress. The point is this: even though it pained me to shift through philosophic arguments my sophomore year of col More...

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Jun 03, 2011

Julie rated it:

I really liked his writing on Seneca. Makes me want to go to the source material. Seneca has this great observation about how we react to inanimate objects. We take the conjunction that should be "and" and replace it with connectors such as "in order to." For example "My pencil broke, *and* I am irritated." Becomes "My pencil broke *in order to* irritate me." After some practice observing this tendency he then could more easily see that he often gave such More...

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