Alain de Botton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alain de Botton
FRSL
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De Botton in 2011
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| Born | 20 December 1969 Zürich, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Writer, speaker |
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| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (BA) King's College London (MPhil) Harvard University |
| Period | 1993–present |
Alain de Botton FRSL (born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British author and public speaker. He writes books that explore everyday topics and feelings. He often uses ideas from philosophy to help people understand life better.
Some of his most popular books include Essays in Love (1993), which sold millions of copies. Other bestsellers are How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), Status Anxiety (2004), and The Architecture of Happiness (2006).
Alain de Botton also helped start two important projects. He co-founded The School of Life in 2008. This organization offers classes and advice on how to live a good life. In 2009, he started Living Architecture, which builds unique holiday homes designed by famous architects.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Alain de Botton was born in Zürich, Switzerland. His mother was Jacqueline Burgauer and his father was Gilbert de Botton. His father was born in Alexandria, Egypt. After some political changes, his father moved to Switzerland. There, he helped start a successful investment company. Alain de Botton's family was quite wealthy.
His mother was from a Jewish family (Ashkenazi Jewish). His father was from a Jewish family (Sephardic Jewish) from Spain. Alain de Botton's paternal grandmother, Yolande Harmer, was a journalist who worked for Israel.
Alain has one sister, Miel de Botton. They grew up without a strong religious focus. He spent his first twelve years in Switzerland. During this time, he spoke French and German.
Education and Learning
De Botton moved to England for school. He first attended the Dragon School, where English became his main language. Later, he went to Harrow School, a boarding school. He has often said that he was a shy child during his time at boarding schools.
He studied history at University of Cambridge. He was a student at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He earned a very high degree there. After Cambridge, he continued his studies at King's College London. He earned a master's degree in Philosophy. He even started a PhD at Harvard University. However, he decided to stop his PhD studies. He wanted to focus on writing books for everyone, not just for academics.
His Books and Writings
Alain de Botton writes both fiction (made-up stories) and non-fiction (true stories and ideas).
Fiction Books
His first novel was Essays in Love, published in 1993. This book explores how people fall in and out of love. In 2010, this book was made into a romantic comedy movie called My Last Five Girlfriends. He later wrote a follow-up book called The Course of Love in 2016.
Non-Fiction Books
In 1997, he published his first non-fiction book, How Proust Can Change Your Life. This book was inspired by the life and works of the French writer Marcel Proust. It became a bestseller in both the US and the UK.
In 2000, he wrote The Consolations of Philosophy. This book looks at how the ideas of famous philosophers can help us with modern problems. He discusses thinkers like Epicurus, Montaigne, Nietzsche, and Socrates. The book suggests that philosophy can offer comfort and guidance in everyday life.
His 2004 book, Status Anxiety, explores why people worry so much about their social standing and what others think of them.
In The Architecture of Happiness (2006), de Botton writes about how buildings and design affect our feelings. He explains that the places we live in and see every day can influence our happiness. He also talks about how our personalities can be seen in the types of buildings we like. He believes that good modern architecture can inspire us and suggest new possibilities.
In The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009), de Botton explored ten different jobs. These included jobs like accounting and making biscuits. The book aims to show the interesting and sometimes difficult parts of modern work life.
In 2009, de Botton became a "writer-in-residence" at Heathrow Airport. He sat at a desk in Terminal 5 and wrote about the people coming and going for a week. This experience led to his book, A Week at the Airport.
In 2012, he published Religion for Atheists. This book suggests that even people who don't believe in God can learn valuable lessons from religions. He believes religions offer useful ideas about community, rituals, and finding meaning.
In 2013, he co-wrote Art as Therapy with John Armstrong. This book argues that great works of art can help us understand and deal with the challenges of daily life.
His 2014 book, The News: A User's Manual, looks at how news affects our minds. He analyzes different news stories to show how the media shapes our thoughts.
Newspaper Articles
Alain de Botton used to write articles for several English newspapers. From 1998 to 2000, he had a regular column in The Independent on Sunday.
Lectures, TV, and Radio
Alain de Botton travels a lot to give talks. He has spoken at TED conferences. In 2011, he talked about "Atheism 2.0," which is about how atheism can still include human needs for connection and meaning. In 2009, he spoke at Oxford University about success and failure. He questioned what these words really mean.
In 2011, he presented a series of talks for the BBC Radio 4 show A Point of View.
He also has his own company, Seneca Productions. This company makes TV documentaries based on his books and ideas.
Other Projects
The School of Life
In 2008, Alain de Botton helped create The School of Life. This organization is based in cities around the world, including London, Paris, and Seoul. It offers classes and programs focused on "emotional education." This means helping people learn about work, relationships, and how to live a more fulfilling life. De Botton explained that the school aims to give people wisdom and direction for their lives, using ideas from culture.
Living Architecture
In 2009, de Botton started "Living Architecture." This project builds unique holiday homes in the UK. They work with famous modern architects to design these houses. The goal is to help people appreciate good modern architecture. The houses are rented out to the public. De Botton is the creative director of Living Architecture. In 2009, he was honored by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for his work in architecture.
Museum Displays
In 2014, several museums invited de Botton to create special exhibitions. These included the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Based on his book Art as Therapy, he and his colleague John Armstrong added captions and comments to artworks. These notes helped visitors think about how art can relate to their own lives.
Personal Life
Alain de Botton has said that his relationship with his father was sometimes difficult. Even when he sold his first bestselling book, his father was not very impressed. When his father passed away, his family received a large amount of money. However, de Botton says his own income comes from his books, talks, and projects like The School of Life.
Alain's stepmother, Janet Wolfson de Botton, is known for supporting the arts. Alain married his wife, Charlotte, in 2003. They have two sons. The de Botton family lives in London.
Film and TV Work
Films
- My Last Five Girlfriends (a movie based on his book Essays in Love)
TV Series
- Philosophy: A Guide To Happiness (2000, based on The Consolations of Philosophy)
- Socrates on Self-Confidence
- Epicurus on Happiness
- Seneca on Anger
- Montaigne on Self-Esteem
- Schopenhauer on Love
- Nietzsche on Hardship
- Status Anxiety
- The Art of Travel
- The Perfect Home (based on The Architecture of Happiness)
See also
In Spanish: Alain de Botton para niños
Images for kids
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Alain de Botton in 2011
