the consolation of philosophy of boethius

is bad because the conception of philosophy that it promotes is a decadent one, and can only mislead readers as to the true nature of the discipline.' In seeking to popularise philosophy, Alain de Botton has merely trivialised it, smoothing the discipline into a series of silly sound bites. Edward Skidelsky of the New Statesman wrote: 'Comforting, but meaningless. Kirkus Reviews writes 'Congenial, refreshing, original-and mercifully succinct-de Botton may well achieve the impossible by making philosophy popular.' Īlison Lurie in New York Review of Books said, 'the simplicity of his writing is not the product of a simple mind.' Ī few critics have been negative. But he writes with such charm and freshness that he somehow avoids the pitfall.' The lessons that he draws from his sages might, in other hands, have appeared trite. He has also succeeded in bringing each one to life. De Botton takes us on a brisk, playful tour of the lives and ideas of half-a-dozen of the big names in the history of philosophy.'Īccording to Ben Rogers in the Sunday Telegraph, 'singling these thinkers out and grouping them together is only the smaller part of de Botton’s achievement. Humphrey Carpenter in The Sunday Times, (2 April 2000) said, 'The Consolations of Philosophy is certainly a commentary rather than a work of original thought but few discussions on the great philosophers can have been so entertaining. It received glowing praise in, among other publications, The New York Review of Books, The Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Irish Times and The Literary Review. The critical reception for Consolations has been primarily positive. Consolation for Unpopularity ( Socrates).Consolation for Not Having Enough Money ( Epicurus).

Consolation for Inadequacy ( Montaigne).

Consolation for Difficulties ( Nietzsche).

Consolation for a Broken Heart ( Schopenhauer).

These are categorised in a number of chapters with one philosopher used in each. In Consolations, de Botton attempts to console the reader through everyday problems (or at least help them to understand them) by extensively quoting and interpreting a number of philosophers. The title of the book is a reference to Boethius's magnum opus Consolation of Philosophy, in which philosophy appears as an allegorical figure to Boethius to console him in the year he was imprisoned, leading up to his impending execution. First published by Hamish Hamilton in 2000, subsequent publications (2001 onwards) have been by Penguin Books.

The Consolations of Philosophy ( ISBN 1-0) is a non-fiction book by Alain de Botton.

The consolation of philosophy of boethius