How Philosophy Can Change Your Life, Alain de Botton (#118) - Tim Ferris Show

“We’re not very good at understanding what it is that we really want. We’re extremely prone to latch onto suggestions from the outside world.” – Alain de Botton

Alain de Botton (@alaindebotton) is many things, but I think of him as a rare breed of practical philosopher.

In 1997, he turned away from writing novels and instead wrote an extended essay titled How Proust Can Change Your Life, which became an unlikely blockbuster.

His subsequent books have been described as a ‘philosophy of everyday life’ and subjects include love, travel, architecture, religion and work. His other bestsellers include Essays In Love, Status Anxiety, and The Architecture Of Happiness. More recent works include The News: A User’s Manual, which looks at the impact our obsession with checking news has on our minds, and Art as Therapy, co-written with the art historian John Armstrong.

In 2008, de Botton helped start The School of Life in London, a social enterprise determined to make learning and therapy relevant in today’s uptight culture. His goal is (through any of his mediums) to help clients learn “how to live wisely and well.”

In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including:
Real-world versus academic philosophy
The value of rituals and tribes
Practical pessimism
“Ordinary genius”
The magic of pomegranates
Lesser-known modern thinkers
Why “mean” is often simply “anxious”
His favorite Japanese pens
And much more!

You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.


Source: https://tim.blog/2015/11/10/alain-de-botton/