Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton, FRSLis a Swiss-born, British-based self-help philosopher and public speaker. His books and television programmes discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. At 23, he published Essays in Love, which went on to sell two million copies. Other bestsellers include How Proust Can Change Your Life, Status Anxietyand The Architecture of Happiness...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth20 December 1969
capitalist destroyed dogma love monastery pay people refuge stuff university
I love the idea of a university as away from capitalist values, where people can do things that don't immediately have to pay their way. It's like a monastery in a way, and that beautiful refuge has been destroyed by dogma about what this stuff is for.
anyone bars concerts gathering groups hello ok people religions sociable strangers talk
A city like London is sociable in a sense that there are people gathering in bars and restaurants, concerts and lectures. Yet you can partake of all these experiences and never say hello to anyone new. And one of the things that all religions do is take groups of strangers into a space and say it is OK to talk to each other.
almost demand high meet naturally novelist opposed people society sort
It's almost a blessing when we meet people who naturally want to do the sort of things that are in high demand in society. What a gift to do that, as opposed to other people who would say, 'I want to be a novelist but actually I have to be an accountant.'
believe thinking people
.. if you asked most people whether they believed in love or not, they’d probably say they didn’t. Yet that’s not necessarily what they truly think. It’s just the way they defend themselves against what they want. They believe in it, but pretend they don’t until they’re allowed to. Most people would throw away all their cynicism if they could. The majority just never gets the chance.
stupid ideas people
The fear of saying something stupid (which stupid people never have) has censored far more good ideas than bad ones.
media people benefits
Social media has lots of benefits, but compared to Christianity, it tends to group people by interests. Religion puts you with people who have nothing in common except that you're human.
envy people generosity
The company of certain people may excite our generosity and sensitivity, while that of others awakens our competitiveness and envy.
thinking people matter
Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.
people forgiving goes-on
People who go on to be writers are those who can forgive themselves the horror of the first draft.
dream art people
The dream of the news is that it makes us care about other people and situations. But we cannot identify with people to whom we haven't been introduced. Humans will only respond to art, to people who are skilled in making you care.
people want dignity
The more dignity is widely and freely available in a society, the less people want to be famous.
hate thinking people
For paranoia about 'what other people think' : remember that only some hate, a very few love - and almost all just don't care.
night men people
That said, deciding to avoid other people does not necessarily equate with having no desire whatsoever for company; it may simply reflect a dissatisfaction with what—or who—is available. Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards. In Chamfort's words, 'It is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like society. This is like saying of a man that he does not like going for walks because he is not fond of walking at night in the forêt de Bondy.
people looks attention
We may seek a fortune for no greater reason than to secure the respect and attention of people who would otherwise look straight through us.