Book Review: "The Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain de Botton

Previously in the works of Alain de Botton, we have looked at the following books:

As you can see, the reviews are gradually becoming more positive as I start to see where he's coming from. The Consolations of Philosophy is about the practicality of some of the great philosophers in history. As we gain access to their life and times, we take a good look at what they can teach us about various issues that to us, seem individual, but are perhaps more universal than we care to realise. It opens with a carton of Nesquik and a painting by Jacques-Louis David (one of my personal favourite painters, though I do not care for milkshakes, sorry) - and it expands and expands and expands, into something far more human and recognisable.

We begin with the life and times of Socrates, now I have always found Socrates an odd fellow because there are theories that state that Plato may have made him up for the purpose of the books he wrote (I'm not sure whether this is true, but it complicates things). As we know, Socrates died by poisoning in jail where he was encouraged to die as quickly as possible. The crime was basically something like corrupting the youth and failing to worship the gods of Athens. Now this, Alain de Botton states, is strange because later on in Athenian culture, the ways and teachings of Socrates are embraced quite fully. Alain de Botton goes on to look at the cultural surroundings in which the Peloponnesian War had just been lost and everyone was on edge. Therefore, the men (who the author state lacked intelligence) that were judging Socrates have had their mind warped by this context. The result is basically judging someone because they "looked strange". Not very fair, but it does allow the myth of Socrates to persist.

And this is just the beginning. When we get on to people like Schopenhauer, we see that there is something else entirely going on. Schopenhauer's life and actions have influenced many the course of existentialism since, but more importantly, it influenced his own existentialism. Coming from an amount of money which means conveniently, he could take up a career in philosophy, Schopenhauer's focus on the world as meaningless could be due to immense amounts of privilege he had not to create meaning from usefulness, or it could be due to the fact that maybe - he was right. In the grand scheme of things, our actions mean nothing, our lives mean nothing and even this review - means nothing. Schopenhauer's irony is that he is still being read today, which is hilarious to think. Alain de Botton looks at Schopenhauer in a more poetic way than I remember him and I guess that is refreshing and new, but it definitely does clear up his philosophies for those who perhaps struggled.

Alain de Botton's writing style and unconventional approach to writing in which the literature serves as emotionally helpful rather than simply intellectually useful, has really grown on me. If you read my review on A Therapeutic Journey, I am quite confused about where I stand with him because I had encountered this before - but usually it was through the eyes of someone giving us books to confront our worldly problems. This was almost the other way around in that Alain de Botton was identifying a problem we have and using these ideas from various books and by various people to intricately reason with them. As in his other books, there is no solution here, rather there are solutions, or possibilities. There are things we can use emotionally, places we can go that are helpful, cementing the fact that literature can and continues to be one of the great joys of our lives. It is like receiving a big hug in our darkest moments.

I genuinely hope I get to read more of Alain de Botton's works. It has been growing as a great set of reading experiences for me. The Consolations of Philosophy is perhaps one of my favourite of the three. I am glad for progressing in my understanding of where he is trying to lead us with his writing style and I would definitely recommend that if you're planning to read this author and have not done so already, that you perhaps start here.