The humanities have been forced to disguise, both from themselves and their students, why their subjects really matter, for the sake of attracting money and prestige in a world obsessed by the achievements of science. Alain de Botton Read Quote
We are properly ready for marriage when we are strong enough to embrace a life of frustration. Alain de Botton Read Quote
Small issues are really just large ones that haven’t been accorded the requisite attention. Alain de Botton Read Quote
I do think that travel can be part of a journey of inner maturation, but you’ve got to do it right. Alain de Botton Read Quote
We tend to think of philosophies as produced by professional philosophers. Traditionally, this has meant people who have written dissertations on obscure subjects or who spend most of their day in libraries. But every human is, in an important sense, a carrier of an implicit philosophy – evident in their choices, pronouncements and commitments. Alain de Botton Read Quote
If buying art is to matter to us deeply, then it has to engage with our emotions and bring something to what one might as well, and with no supernatural associations whatsoever, call our souls. Alain de Botton Read Quote
Artworks are especially good at helping our psyches in a variety of ways: they rebalance our moods, lend us hope, usher in calm, stretch our sympathies, reignite our senses, and reawaken appreciation. Alain de Botton Read Quote
Secular thinkers have a separation between thinking and doing. They don’t have a grasp of the balance sheet. The doers are selling us potted plants and pizzas while the thinkers are a little bit unworldly. Religions both think and do. Alain de Botton Read Quote
I’m fascinated by Comte’s clear-eyed analysis of what was wrong with modern society, which is that you’ve got industrial capitalism on one side and romantic love on the other. Those, along with non-instrumental art, are supposed to get you through the day? Alain de Botton Read Quote
Politicians want people to be nice neighbours, but the tools at their disposal are just the tools of modern liberal society, which are nothing. Alain de Botton Read Quote
