Works
The Consolations of Philosophy
Alain de Botton
Status Anxiety
Alain de Botton
The Architecture of Happiness
Alain de BottonThe Consolations of Philosophy
Alain de BottonStatus Anxiety
Alain de BottonThe Architecture of Happiness
Alain de BottonFamous Alain de Botton Quotes
Alain de Botton Quotes about life
Alain de Botton Quotes about love
Source: How Proust Can Change Your Life
Alain de Botton: Trending quotes
“There may be no good reason for things to be the way they are.”
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter I, Consolations For Unpopularity, p. 23.
“A virtuous, ordinary life, striving for wisdom but never far from folly, is achievement enough.”
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter IV, Consolation For Inadequacy, p. 168.
“Not everyone is worth listening to.”
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter I, Consolations For Unpopularity, p. 33.
Alain de Botton Quotes
Alain de Botton book The Architecture of Happiness
Source: The Architecture of Happiness
“Cynics are merely idealists with unusually high standards.”
Variant: Cynics are - beneath it all - only idealists with awkwardly high standards.
Source: The Course of Love
“We will cease to be angry once we cease to be so hopeful.”
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter III, Consolation For Frustration, p. 85.
As quoted in "The Art of Connection – A Conversation with Alain de Botton" by Kim Nagy in Wild River Review (19 November 2007).
Context: I think where people tend to end up results from a combination of encouragement, accident, and lucky break, etc. etc. Like many others, my career happened like it did because certain doors opened and certain doors closed. You know, at a certain point I thought it would be great to make film documentaries. Well, in fact, I found that to be incredibly hard and very expensive to do and I didn’t really have the courage to keep battling away at that. In another age, I might have been an academic in a university, if the university system had been different. So it’s all about trying to find the best fit between your talents and what the world can offer at that point in time.
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter VI, Consolation For Difficulties, p. 228.
Context: To cut out every negative root would simultaneously mean choking off positive elements that might arise from it further up the stem of the plant.
We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them.
As quoted in "The Art of Connection – A Conversation with Alain de Botton" by Kim Nagy in Wild River Review (19 November 2007).
Context: I think where people tend to end up results from a combination of encouragement, accident, and lucky break, etc. etc. Like many others, my career happened like it did because certain doors opened and certain doors closed. You know, at a certain point I thought it would be great to make film documentaries. Well, in fact, I found that to be incredibly hard and very expensive to do and I didn’t really have the courage to keep battling away at that. In another age, I might have been an academic in a university, if the university system had been different. So it’s all about trying to find the best fit between your talents and what the world can offer at that point in time.
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter IV, Consolation For Inadequacy, p. 148
“There may be significant things to learn about people by looking at what annoys them most.”
Source: How Proust Can Change Your Life
Alain de Botton book Status Anxiety
Source: Status Anxiety
“Anxiety is the handmaiden of contemporary ambition.”
Alain de Botton book Status Anxiety
Source: Status Anxiety
