Book Review: The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

In a combination of philosophy and self-help, Alain de Botton looks at six philosophers and considers how their attitudes can help to deal with problems in life. Here's a quick overview:

1. Socrates and the consolation for unpopularity--Socrates often questioned other people about their lives, especially their fundamental beliefs. He drew out the irrational or contradictory aspects of their ideas, often annoying or befuddling people. He wound up under trial for corrupting youth and denying the gods. He was sentenced to death, an outcome he accepting with surprising equanimity. Socrates always judged things with reason and logic; he was indifferent to popular opinion. Sometimes popular opinion is right and sometimes it is wrong. Reason is a safer guide in life.
2. Epicurus and the consolation for not having enough money--Epicurus has a reputation problem. In modern parlance, "epicurean" means having very refined tastes, basically appreciating the best things in life, which are often the most expensive. Desire for the pleasurable is central to Epicurus's philosophy. But he moves pretty quickly from the delights of food, drink, and sex. For him, the highest pleasures are having friends, having basic needs met, and having time to reflect on the truly highest things. Money can buy pleasures, but it does not guarantee friendships or knowledge of what is truly best in life. A poor person can have these and be content. Happiness is possible; an excess of money is not required.
3. Seneca and the consolation for frustration--Seneca lived in a very turbulent time during the Roman Empire. He wound up having to kill himself during the reign of Nero. Seneca was a Stoic, recognizing that chance or fate is not a moral force that rewards the good and punishes the bad. Fate is blind and capricious, doling out good and evil indiscriminately. Complaining about its unfairness is not helpful; resisting its randomness is futile. The wise person looks at the course of what happens and adjusts expectations and actions accordingly.
4. Montaigne and the consolation for inadequacy--Montaigne discoursed on overrated things by pointing out the salient feature of them--they are overrated. To him, education had fallen into the trap of being about ephemeral details of reality rather than about understanding reality and the human condition. In short, they taught facts rather than wisdom. The worst of all were the philosophical types who wrote inscrutable books--if we can't figure them out, is it because we are dumb or because there is no discernible knowledge there? Wisdom and happiness are easier to achieve when the goals are not falsely set too high in the sky. Maybe the solution to inadequacy is to see the measure itself is inadequate.
5. Schopenhauer and the consolation for a broken heart--Schopenhauer was another down-to-earth philosopher who saw a struggle between the individual and the will-to-life which every person has. The will-to-life seeks the continuation of the species, desiring not only offspring but that offspring be better off than their parents before them. The practical consequence is that adults often seek (subconsciously) a mate who will make up for their defects and produce better children. But for Schopenhauer, that means the mates themselves are not a good match--their non-mutual defects become a burden. So a love life is fraught with peril (which was Schopenhauer's personal experience). The only path to satisfaction is to understand the way the world is and to accept it.
6. Nietzsche and the consolation for difficulties--Nietzsche had a roundabout path to his final theory of happiness. He started in school with the chance discovery of Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation which he immediately adopted as his philosophical bible. Other experiences drew him away from Schopenhauer and onto his own path. Nietzsche's philosophy morphed into the praise of the man who could overcome difficulties and adversities to achieve great things. He often uses the metaphor of climbing a mountain. It would be easy to stay in the valley, in the mundane. The work to ascend a mountain gives great rewards. He disparaged a lot of other things, including alcohol, Christianity, and just about every other philosopher in the history of philosophy, as pandering to the weakness in humans. Overcoming difficulties, not succumbing to them or dodging them, is the path to fulfillment.

The book is entertainingly written and has a smattering of pictures to illustrate points. Each "consolation" gives a brief biography and a summation of the philosopher's thoughts. But the big picture seems to be lost. There's no unified knowledge here. Schopenhauer and Montaigne talk about the value of lowering expectations while Nietzsche despises such an attitude. Socrates tries to change other people's attitudes by showing their sloppy thinking; Seneca just bears up under the sloppy thinking. The book has no summation at the end because the parts don't fit together so easily. The title would be more accurate as "The Consolations of Philosophies." Readers can pick which one is helpful in the moment, though they may have to choose differently under different circumstances.

Mildly recommended--there's a lot of good bits but an overall disconnect.