At home at RIVERBEND on the beautiful Clyde: The Consolations of Philosophy

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

The Consolations of Philosophy

Alain de Botton, FRSL (/dəˈbɒtən/; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born, British-based author and television presenter. His books and television programmes discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasising philosophy's relevance to everyday life. Couldn't you listen to him all day long? (although not everyone agrees; click here)

Ancient philosophers confuse me. Living and working in Greece for almost two years didn't help much either. I need to remind myself with the acronym SPA to know who came first and second and third: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Luckily, quite a few years ago I discovered Alain de Botton who wrote several very good books, some of which he turned into video clips.

"The Art of Travel"

"The Perfect Home", based on his book "The Architecture of Happiness"

"Status Anxiety"

"Nietzsche on Hardship", based on his book "Philosophy - A Guide To Happiness"

"Seneca on Anger", based on his book "Philosophy - A Guide to Happiness"

"Socrates on Self-Confidence£, based on his book "Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness"

"Montaigne on Self-Esteem", based on his book "Philosophy - A Guide to Happiness"

"Schopenhauer on Love", based on his book "Philosophy - A Guide to Happiness"

Some of his books are available online:

The Architecture of Happiness
The Art of Travel
The News - A User's Manual
Religion for Atheists
The Consolations of Philosophy
Status Anxiety
The Romantic Movement
The Course of Love
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
How Proust can change your Life

To read them, SIGN UP (it's FREE!), then LOG IN and BORROW.

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In eigener Sache!

Ich wanderte im Jahre 1965 vom (k)alten Deutschland nach Australien aus. In Erinnerung an das alte Sprichwort "Gott hüte mich vor Sturm und Wind und Deutschen die im Ausland sind" wurde ich in 1971 im Dschungel von Neu-Guinea australischer Staatsbürger. Das kostete mich nur einen Umlaut und das zweite n im Nachnamen - von -mann auf -man.

Australien gab mir eine zweite Sprache und eine zweite Chance und es war auch der Anfang und das Ende: nach fünfzig Arbeiten in fünfzehn Ländern - "Die ganze Welt mein Arbeitsfeld" - lebe ich jetzt im Ruhestand in Australien an der schönen Südküste von Neusüdwales.

Ich verbringe meine Tage mit dem Lesen von Büchern, segle mein Boot den Fluss hinunter, beschäftige mich mit Holzarbeit, oder mache Pläne für eine neue Reise. Falls Du mir schreiben willst, sende mir eine Email an riverbendnelligen [AT] mail.com, und ich schreibe zurück.

Falls Du anrufen möchtest, meine Nummer ist XLIV LXXVIII X LXXXI.

Notice to North American readers:

This blog is written in the version of English that is standard here. So recognise is spelled recognise and not recognize etc. I recognise that some North American readers may find this upsetting, and while I sympathise with them, I sympathise even more with my countrymen who taught me how to spell. However, as an apology, here are a bunch of Zs for you to put where needed.

Zzzzzz

Disclaimer
This blog has no particular axe to grind, apart from that of having no particular axe to grind. It is written by a bloke who was born in Germany at the end of the war (that is, for younger readers, the Second World War, the one the Americans think they won single-handedly). He left for Australia when most Germans had not yet visited any foreign countries, except to invade them. He lived and worked all over the world, and even managed a couple of visits back to the (c)old country whose inhabitants he found very efficient, especially when it came to totting up what he had consumed from the hotels' minibars. In retirement, he lives (again) in Australia, but is yet to grow up anywhere.

He reserves the right to revise his views at any time. He might even indulge in the freedom of contradicting himself. He has done so in the past and will most certainly do so in the future. He is not persuading you or anyone else to believe anything that is reported on or linked to from this site, but encourages you to use all available resources to form your own opinions about important things that affect all our lives and to express them in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Everything on this website, including any material that third parties may consider to be their copyright, has been used on the basis of “fair dealing” for the purposes of research and study, and criticism and review. Any party who feels that their copyright has been infringed should contact me with details of the copyright material and proof of their ownership and I will remove it.

And finally, don't bother trying to read between the lines. There are no lines - only snapshots, most out of focus.