I just finished The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton, a noob 101 into philosophy without worrying about the heavy explanation (because it is written in modern English). In this book, we touch on 6 problems of everyday life with the help of 6 philosophers:
- Consolation of Unpopularity by Socrates
- Consolation of Not Having Enough Money by Epicurus
- Consolation of Frustration by Seneca
- Consolation of Inadequacy by Montaigne
- Consolation of A Broken Heart by Schopenhauer
- Consolation of Difficulties by Fredrich Neitzche
For example, if you are frustrated with life, Alain de Botton will try to console you by quoting and interpreting Seneca on that chosen topic.
Seneca says all frustration arises from a faulty view of the world, we are frustrated because we expect something to behave differently. We have our 'expectations'. He reminds us that the worst scenarios in life are always possible and to be ready for them. So that when it happens, you will be well-prepared and not be the victim of anger, grief, and frustration.
It is entertaining, easy to read, and relevant, suitable for me because I just started on Western philosophy and their original books are just a bit too hard. I just can't simply plunge into essays by Montaigne or Schopenhauer on demand, I need to slowly crawl and reread and watch summary videos on Youtube and find easy translations into Modern English :F
I particularly love chapters 2 and 5 of this book.
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In chapter 5: Consolation for heartbreak from Arthur Schopenhauer, a well-known pessimist! It was a funny chapter that I do not fully agree with but entertaining nonetheless. He has this theory that human choose their partner based on unconscious natural selection. That we do not fully have control over who we find 'attractive' because unconsciously, we only have the natural desire to 'propagate' our species. We are living things and that is something that we need to do. The desire to have a partner is basically because of how our mind is wired - for the survival of the species and it is not fully concerned with our happiness.
What is looked for in marriage is not intellectual entertainment, but the procreation of children.
What he is saying is happy marriage is not entirely in our mind when we are choosing our partner, but a good partner for a good offspring is. So a 'happy marriage' is rather unnatural once we have kids and it is okay, as he is also equally committed to the idea that we all have meaningless existence: we live, we survive and we reproduce for the next generation, just like any other living things on earth so don't think too much about the unrequited love. Hahah.
Anyway, that's how I see it lah, both Alain de Botton and chosen philosopher put their context in each chapter and it was an interesting take.
We must, between periods of digging in the dark, endeavor always to transform our tears into knowledge.
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This book is not really written for people that are already familiar with Western philosophy. It is a fun self-help/philosophy book, just swimming on the surface, cicah2 kaki in learning about these philosophers and what they come out with. So Alain de Botton's works are suitable for anyone just starting to read philosophy.
Note: The School of Life on Youtube is one of his personal projects.
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