[In the following review, Miller maintains that The Consolations of Philosophy provides an invaluable insight into philosophical thought and deems the book enjoyable and worthwhile.]

Alain de Botton believes we should use philosophy in daily living, that ideas from philosophy can provide consolation for a variety of typical human complaints such as inadequacy and unpopularity. In The Consolations of Philosophy, de Botton backs up his argument with the writings of six well-known philosophers: Sophocles, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. To my surprise, I found that this book exploded several of my misconceptions regarding the philosophers in question. As I read on, it became apparent to me that my college-course exposure to these philosophers focused on just a small part of their total belief structures, and that the course distorted those parts severely. I would have counted this book worthwhile for that discovery alone.

Alain de Botton goes beyond mere description of ideas and shows how the life experiences of these thinkers produced the concepts he describes. The philosophers did not set out to develop large answers to large questions, but rather they acquired for themselves a set of hard-earned tools for living a successful or happy life. These days, philosophy has become detached from daily life, and most modern philosophers seem to believe that their work consists only of finding the large answers, not of improving the lot of the average person—that job belongs to psychologists. De Botton, a philosopher himself, contends that philosophy only matters as it applies to daily life and the living thereof.

More importantly, for our purposes, many of the concepts de Botton describes could have come directly from a text on general semantics. For example, in the section on Seneca, we read that Seneca believed that,

… anger results not from an uncontrollable eruption of the passions, but from a basic (and correctable) error of reasoning. … if fingers are flicked over our eyes, we have to blink, but anger does not belong to (this) category … it can only break out on the back of certain rationally held ideas; if we can only change the ideas, we will change our propensity to anger.

In the section on Montaigne, de Botton says the philosopher traveled widely, partly to develop a broader and more conscious sense of “normal” and “abnormal,” and that he decried the parochial belief of so many people that there could exist only one possible view of things—their own. De Botton presents several examples that show Montaigne embraced situational ethics and valued a relativistic orientation.

In the last section of the book, we come to Nietzsche, usually iconically linked to the Nazis and their beloved Superman (which of course bears little more than the name in common with his original concept of Ubermensch). Ask a college graduate who, like me, took only an overview course on philosophy, to name one concept Nietzsche developed besides that of the Superman and many will say “Pain is good.” Some might conclude that this puts him in a league with the Marquis de Sade, but de Botton shows that the philosopher believed that to prosper, a person must not avoid the difficulties inherent in the climb towards success and achievement (not that pain “is good” but that it comes with the territory and acts to fertilize the soil in which pleasure grows). De Botton says that to Nietzsche,

… every pain is an indistinct signal that something is wrong, which may engender either a good or bad result depending on the sagacity and strength of mind of the sufferer. Anxiety may precipitate panic, or an accurate analysis of what is amiss. …

In general semantics terms, one might say Nietzsche valued the ability to control one's semantic reactions and properly evaluate a difficult situation. To Nietzsche, the superior person embraces difficulties and gladly learns from them and thereby qualifies as Ubermensch.

I think readers of ETC will find this book worthwhile and enjoyable. The author has a somewhat whimsical style that might not please everyone, but the underlying information will probably appeal to those familiar with the concepts of general semantics, especially those who seek tools for a saner life.