Analysis Of Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton

In the book Status Anxiety, the author Alain de Botton introduces different thesis on Status in his words status is something that people desire. He often reflects on how people gain status through the eyes of others if people could obtain status in the eyes of their own self than the world might be a better place to live in. He compares status to personal needs of human: such as love, the expectation that society has for people, how status is obtained by snobbery, the meritocracy people live in, and how people use their dependence for advantages and disadvantages. At the beginning of the book before chapter one begins the definition of status is displayed the books definition of status is “One’s position in society” After reading this the

The first-the story of our quest for sexual love and the second-the story of our quest for love from the world” He explains that the first type of love that people seek is shared amongst people they are more likely to share this type of love with others. The second type of love people are ashamed of its kept a secret amongst themselves. While its clearly stated in the text as to what he means by these statements as he references the need for love is no different from the need for status. He is picking at the idea that the human desire for love is obtained through their desire to noticed in the world. If a person has the affection of another they feel as if they are at a higher status than those who are still searching for love, but those who may have found love may not be at the same position in life as the one who are still seeking that affection. De Botton uses quotes from William James a great philosopher to keep his argument going about not having affection he says that a “rage of impotent despair” would began inside a person causing them to feel less worthy. He then inserts that do to people not knowing their own self value they seek a continuing approval of others “self-conception could be pictured as a leaking balloon, forever requiring the helium of external love to remain inflated” reading that quote it almost sounds as if De Botton is expressing a disapproval of the way people thinking wishing that the concept of self-approval would come before the approval of