Alain de Botton Status Anxiety Quotes, born December 20, 1969, in Zurich, Switzerland, is a British-Swiss philosopher and author renowned for his accessible explorations of human experiences. His book Status Anxiety (2004) examines the universal desire for social status, its emotional toll, and strategies for overcoming the anxieties it provokes. Blending philosophy, history, and psychology, de Botton critiques societal pressures around success and offers insights into self-worth and fulfillment. These 15 quotes—sourced from Status Anxiety—reflect his thoughts on status, ambition, comparison, and inner peace, infused with his empathetic and introspective style.
15 Alain de Botton Status Anxiety Quotes
- “Not being understood may be taken as a sign that there is much in one to understand.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Anxiety is the handmaiden of contemporary ambition.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “The desire for high status is never stronger than in situations where ‘ordinary’ life fails to answer a median need for dignity or comfort.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Wealth is not an absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “The price we have paid for expecting to be so much more than our ancestors is a perpetual anxiety that we are far from being all we might be.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “To be shown love is to feel ourselves the object of concern: our presence is noted, our name is registered, our views are listened to.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “The attentions of others matter to us because we are afflicted by a congenital uncertainty as to our own value.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Every adult life could be said to be defined by two great love stories. The first—the story of our quest for sexual love—is well known and well charted. The second—the story of our quest for love from the world—is a more secret and shameful tale.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Status anxiety is the feeling that we might be nothing, or not enough, in the eyes of those whose opinions we take to define our worth.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “We are humiliated by what is powerful and mean, but awed by what is powerful and noble.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “The essence of the charge made against the modern high-status ideal is that it is guilty of effecting a gigantic distortion in our priorities.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Judged against eternity, human life is absurdly brief, and yet we spend so much of it worrying about our rank in the eyes of others.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Philosophy, art, politics, religion, and bohemia have never sought to do away entirely with the status hierarchy; they have attempted, rather, to institute new kinds of hierarchies based on sets of values other than money.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “Our sense of identity is held hostage to the opinions of others: we become who we are in their eyes.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
- “To escape status anxiety, we must learn to value ourselves for reasons that do not depend on the fluctuating judgments of the world.” (Status Anxiety, 2004)
Alain de Botton’s quotes from Status Anxiety are a profound and compassionate exploration of the pressures of social comparison, urging readers to redefine success, embrace self-worth, and find peace beyond external validation. Which quote eases your anxieties? Share it below and keep de Botton’s insightful philosophy thriving!
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