Alain de Botton Quotes, born December 20, 1969, in Zurich, Switzerland, is a British-Swiss philosopher, author, and founder of The School of Life. Known for his accessible approach to philosophy, he explores love, work, and happiness in books like The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), The Architecture of Happiness (2006), and The Course of Love (2016). His TED talks and essays blend wit and wisdom, making complex ideas relatable. These 15 quotes—sourced from his books, interviews, speeches, and posts on X—reflect his insights on life, relationships, self-understanding, and meaning, infused with his introspective and empathetic style.
15 Alain de Botton Quotes
- “Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.” (The School of Life: An Emotional Education, 2019)
- “Not being understood may be taken as a sign that there is much in one to understand.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.” (How to Think More About Sex, 2012)
- “Most of what makes a book ‘good’ is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.” (The Consolations of Philosophy, 2000)
- “The moment we cry in a film is not when things are sad but when they turn out to be more beautiful than we expected them to be.” (The Architecture of Happiness, 2006)
- “Intimacy is the capacity to be rather weird with someone—and finding that that’s ok with them.” (The Course of Love, 2016)
- “One of the best protections against disappointment is to have a lot going on.” (Essays in Love, 1993)
- “We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease.” (Essays in Love, 1993)
- “To be loved by someone is to realize how much they share the same needs that lie at the heart of our own attraction to them.” (The Course of Love, 2016)
- “The only people we can think of as normal are those we don’t yet know very well.” (The School of Life: An Emotional Education, 2019)
- “Maturity begins with the capacity to sense and, in good time and without defensiveness, admit to our own craziness.” (The Course of Love, 2016)
- “A good half of the art of living is resilience.” (The School of Life: An Emotional Education, 2019)
- “We don’t need to be constantly reasonable in order to have good relationships; all we need to have mastered is the occasional capacity to acknowledge with good grace that we may, in one or two areas, be somewhat insane.” (The Course of Love, 2016)
- “The partner truly best suited to us is not the one who miraculously happens to share every taste, but the one who can negotiate differences in taste with intelligence and grace.” (The Course of Love, 2016)
- “You mustn’t tell people what you think about certain topics: you must show them what it might be like to think about them.” (Post on X, @alaindebotton, 2023-03-15)
Alain de Botton’s quotes are a thoughtful blend of emotional insight, gentle humor, and practical wisdom, inspiring fans to embrace their imperfections, navigate relationships, and find meaning in everyday life. Which quote resonates with your journey? Share it below and keep de Botton’s compassionate philosophy thriving!
Emma Thompson
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