As a companion to today’s TEDTalk from Alain de Botton, he sent us this FAQ, a brief introduction to the thinking behind Atheism 2.0: What do you think of the aggressive atheism we have seen in the past few years? I am an atheist, but a gentle one. I don’t feel the need to mock […]
What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a “religion for atheists” — call it Atheism 2.0 — that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 19:20.) [ted id=1327] Watch Alain de Botton’s talk […]
It reads like everyone was inspired by the talks this week (including two more released from TEDGlobal 2009), which feature philosopher Alain de Botton on success, scientist Elaine Morgan on aquatic apes and artist/software engineer Golan Levin on his interactive art. Lets get to the comments: On Elaine Morgan’s talk: We evolved from aquatic apes: […]
Fresh from last week’s TEDGlobal 2009: Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure — and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009 in […]
It’s time for TED! Alain de Botton begins with a meditation on snobbery. What is a snob? He defines it: “Someone who uses a small part of you to come to a global conclusion about who you are.” But he points to a basic desire of ours to ascribe moral values to those who are […]
TEDGlobal 2009 is under way! Writer Alain de Botton (you can follow him on Twitter) kickstarted the conference with an insightful talk on why people are snobs and how we define our own success. Here were the reactions from TEDsters watching the live feed. A snob: “Someone who uses a small part of you to […]
TED curator Chris Anderson appears on BBC Radio 4’s “iPM: Share What You Know” to discuss a provocative topic: Is the age of big ideas over? Chris debates the notion with philosopher Alain de Botton, the author of How Proust Can Change Your Life. Download the podcast here >>