The Consolations Of Philosophy Alain De Botton Analysis

Kian Tanaka
Mrs. Garrity
AP Lang/Cmp
29 September 2017
Précis
Alain de Botton’s book, The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), argues that reason does not bring upon happiness, but rather arrogance and violence. de Botton backs this claim up by comparing animals to humans and how animals are much more adventurous and instinctive in their thought processes. de Botton’s purpose is to point out how people can begin to withdraw from the rigidity of their minds by accepting their own personal flaws. Given the book is slightly easier to read than many other philosopher’s articles, I believe de Botton’s book is intended for the general audience.
Jane Kramer’s article, “Me, Myself, and I” (2009), establishes a position that explains Montaigne’s confidence to boast about his self worth. Kramer supports her claim by asserting the correlation between the first “Modern Man” and Montaigne,

She then goes on to support her claim by arguing that an essay is not written by an established curriculum, but by a specific writing style. The purpose of the article is to assert that essays were invented in order to effectively express an author's opinion about a certain topic. I believe the audience for Wampole’s article is intended to be philosophers as it is sourced from The Stone.
Lewis H. Lapham’s article, “Notebook” (2010), asserts that writing an essay should be about your own individual beliefs and perspective on the topic. Lapham further expresses this idea by including examples of Montaigne's concepts of individuality and how it led to the creation of honest opinions. The reason why Lapham wrote this article was to reveal to the reader how he was able to find his true self through his writing. The intended audience of Lapham’s article is any student who is having a hard time expressing his true beliefs in his