The consolations ofphilosophy

Book review

Consolation of philosophy

• Written by Boethius

• 524 AD

• Conversationsbetween Boethiusand lady philosophy

• Discusses transitorynature of fame andwealth

The consolations of philosophy

• Author – Alain deBotton

Consolations for

• Unpopularity

• Poverty

• Anger/Frustration

• Inadequacies

• Broken heart

• Hardships

Consolations for unpopularity

• Socrates (469 BC to399 BC)

• Main contribution –The Socratic methodof questioning

• Thinking logicallyabout our lives maymake us more certainof ourselves, moreindependent, lessconformist

The Socratic method

• Statement – Being virtuous requires money

• Where could this statement not be true ?

– Is it possible to be virtuous and not have money

– Is it possible to have money and not be virtuous

• People who have money are virtuous only if theyacquired it in a virtuous way and people who arevirtuous may have lived through professions orsituations where it was impossible to makemoney

Homework Exercise

• Try the Socratic method on the followingstatements

– The best jobs are the ones highly paid

– Having ones own business is better than asalaried job

– Marriage brings happiness

Don’t listen to dictates of public opinion but only to the dictates of reason

Execution of Socrates

• Accused of

– Not worshipping theGods

– Introducing religiousnovelties

– Corrupting young men

Consolations for poverty

• Epicurus - 341 BC-270BC

• Pleasure is thebeginning and goal ofa happy life

• However, Intuitiveanswers to “ What willmake mehappy/healthy” notcorrect

Consolation for poverty

• The best things in life are free– Natural and necessary

(Friends,Freedom,Thought)

– Natural but unnecessary (Grand house,banquets, Servants, fish and meat)

– Unnatural and unnecessary (Fame andpower)

• Happiness may be difficult to attain,however the obstacles are not primarilyfinancial

The way to happiness

• Happiness is a tricky issue– We aren’t good at knowing what will make us happy– What we want is not what we need– A philosopher may help you find it more easily than a credit card would

• Modern ideal of having all the money to go shopping may be wrong• Pleasure is the most important thing in life, not luxury• Blame advertising – It makes us feel there are all sorts of things

missing in our lives– Bacardi and friends, Tommy Hilfiger and Freedom, Whisky (after the

tussle)– Solution (?) –

• Disclaimers – House advt. that says “Happiness not included”• Advtertisements that reminded you of the value of friends, freedom and a

thoughtful life

Consolations for anger

• Seneca (3 BC – 65AD)

• Tutor to Nero theRoman emperor

• “What need is there toweep over parts of life? The whole of it callsfor tears”

Consolations for anger

• What makes us angry are dangerously optimisticnotions about the world

• We will cease to be angry when we cease to beso hopeful

• Stoic philosophy - tenets

– We do not always control our world

– We should be prepared for disaster to strike at anypoint

• Not meant to depress but to prepare for reality

The wheel of fortune

“Nothing ought to be unexpectedby us. Our minds should be sentforward in advance to meet all theproblems, and we shouldconsider, not what is wonthappen, but what can happen.What is a man? A vessel that theslightest shaking, the slightesttoss, will break. A body weak andfragile”

Pompeii, AD 79

Execution of Seneca

Consolations for inadequacy

• Michel de Montaigne(1533 -1592)

• Popularized the essayas a literary genre

• Influenced Descarte,Pascal, Emerson andNeitzche (amongothers)

Chateau (Castle)

The three inadequacies

• Bodily inadequacy– Our bodies hold the mind hostage to its whims and

rhythms

• Cultural inadequacy– Spanish slaughter of Incas and Aztecs (whose

population dropped from 80 to 10 million)

• Intellectual inadequacy– Goal of education should be to make us good and

wise, not learned

• A virtuous life, striving for wisdom but never farfrom folly is achievement enough

Consolations for a broken heart

• Arthur Schopenhauer(1788 – 1860)

• Read a few pages ofthe Upanishads everynight

• Key work – “Theworld as will andrepresentation”– Inspiration from Tat

Twam Asi (ChandogyaUpanishad)

Schopenhauer on Love

• The ultimate aim of all love affairs ... ismore important than all other aims inman's life; and therefore it is quite worthyof the profound seriousness with whicheveryone pursues it.

• What is decided by it is nothing less thanthe composition of the next generation ...

Love and happiness

• Love is biological– Sole purpose is propagation of human race

• The will of the species is more powerful than thewill of the individual– Leads to overlooking all faults in the lover

• Love has nothing to do with happiness– The person who is very suitable for our child is never

suitable for us

• “It seems in the making of a marriage, either theindividual or the interests of the species mustcome off badly”

Consolations for hardships

• Friedrich Neitzche ( 1844-1900)

• Misfortune is better thangood fortune– A necessary evil

– “That which does not killme, makes me stronger”

• “Instant cures produce afar greater worsening ofthe complaint”

Consolations for hardships/failure

• Any worthwhile achievement was borne out ofconstant struggle and hardwork

• A successful life will involve failure at some level

• Many great people were not born gifted, theyacquired greatness

• Suffering is not enough, the challenge is torespond well to suffering

– Use dark situations to create something beautiful(much like gardeners)

Advice from Neitzche

• Build house on slopes of Mt. Vesuvius

– Life is a risky affair

• Our worries are vital clues pointing the way tothe ultimate improvement

• Bad response to a failure

– Head for the pub (religion is very similar)

– Dousing pain douses energy that can give realhappiness

– Happiness does not come from escaping trouble, itcomes from cultivating them

Other ideas from Neitzche

• Dichotomy of good and evil is acatastrophic error

• Nihilism – Nothing has any intrinsicimportance and life has no purpose

• Will to power

– Desire to expand ones power more importantthan adaptation and struggle to survive