| He spends barely any words addressing racism | It is also interesting to see how Botton's thesis has found fertile ground on the left and the right as we try to explain the stupid shit others do |
|---|---|
| These parents at my daughter's ELC have Mercs, Cayennes | For instance, the purpose of tragedy in Greek soci I thought it was good but not amazing when I read it, but now that a few months have passed I think of it fairly often |
Otherwise, I'm not sure if life will be worth living without my GR friend's approval.
24| Alain is a fine writer: he is economical and precise but not mechanistic and he does good anecdote | De Botton is a deep and erudite thinker, certainly more than capable of writing a brick-heavy dissertation on any philosopher, but he also wants to reach out to many readers, who cares whether that is for a high concept of sharing wisdom with the masses, or for a desire to sell as many books as possible, or for both reasons? The first one was about the ability of philosophy to console us during life's trials |
|---|---|
| This book is an examination of the causes and potential cures for social anxiety, which he defines as "a worry | When I drop my daughter off to her Early Learning Centre in the mornings, I sometimes hop out of the car and away from it with her as quickly as I can |
Botton diagnoses the problem, surely, and has a lot of learned, detailed, lucid and rather lyrical things to say about the possible alternatives.
8| However, if you're going to read it, be ready to analyze your life, question your ambition and search for ways in which you can better treat your fellow humans | " - Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety This is my second of Botton's books |
|---|---|
| There are other scales: 'holiness'; fighting prowess and so on, and at different times in history, and in different cultures, having 'currency' was not important | So is it fair to present it as a solution at all, when you have such a limited and biased perspective on it? Even though it should be obvious, people tend to forget that reality stays exactly the same, with or without philosophical analysis |
Subverting the prevailing status myth, fostering empathy for the downtrodden literature and appreciation for the uncelebrated painting is what great art is good for.
18