What does lit think about Alain de Botton?

What does lit think about Alain de Botton?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g
youtube.com/watch?v=ENjbTmf0L6w
youtube.com/watch?v=c9dwwVvGfVQ
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

I find his school of life stuff entertaining but in the end he's nothing more than a meme, a second class pop philosopher.

He's a meme cult leader

For the segment of the population he's trying to reach - people who are open to thought but not willing or able to invest serious study, or who haven't previously been exposed to thought - it's better than nothing.

I saw his documentaries when I was like 12 on pbs and it was the first thing that made me think philosophy was interesting and it made me want to learn more. I'm probably not alone - in that sense he's doing his job well.

I agree the concept of entry level material isn't bad, despite it being plebeian. The problem, I think, is the cult-likeness of The School of Life. It's just ridiculous at this point.

This documentary is great:

youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g

He is an idiot who always makes stupidities. The only good video of him is about Proust, but it is because he had a (phD?) paper written about him. (Which I didnt like that much anyway). Foucault, Wittgenstein videos are horrendous and the only thing he is good at is his raging boner to Freud. He constantly wants to find daddy or sexuality issues.

Not to mention Crashcourse philosophy which edgily considered Nietzsche a nihilist.

Maybe only Wisecrack doesnt suck

He's not bad in the sense of being entry-level and getting people interested in philosophy

Other than that though he's a pretty shallow pop-philosopher who is just trying to sell you shit

youtube.com/watch?v=ENjbTmf0L6w

Here he is in 1997 talking about Proust.

BBC movie they made about his first book with Ralph Fiennes playing Proust.

youtube.com/watch?v=c9dwwVvGfVQ

Fucking this. Someone post the Philosopher's Jumper that the Jew is selling on his website.

He makes school of life porn.
No joke.

...

What do you recommend?

Mark Corrigan listens to his podcast. That says everything.

sauce

Bourgeois self-help for lifelong commuters and mental defectives. Metes and doles idle platitudes unto savages who have made him their king. Swann's Way but not the rest. Paul Morley for opera fans. Pleasure to see his face in the Guardian less frequently.

Porn as therapy I think it's called
It's like a picture book though.

Alain de Botton is a second-rate pop philosopher. That being said, I enjoyed The Consolations of Philosophy and Essays On Love.

:(

pornastherapy.com

A couple of years ago she went out for while with Bruno who was nine years older. He was a bit thuggish. She couldn’t possibly let her parents know; they’d have been worried. Sex with him was wild - he got a call girl to join them at a ski resort; he took her to an incredible party in London where everyone was in rubber gear. But he was heartless. He didn’t care about anything else. It was no good trying to talk to him about philosophy.

He is quite fantastic.

Oh my god this was him?

I remember that.