Alain de Botton: Work and Emotional Intelligence

[@realbobbyaxel]

If the world has 50 more Alain De Bottons. That would make the world a lot saner place. But incredibly grateful for having at least 1

[@SeanTheDon17]

I clicked when I saw Alain. I was not disappointed.

[@leesimone2]

@Crebs Park -🤣🤣🤣🤣 You're uncouth silly person. I am walking away now. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 🤦‍♀️ people!

[@louisafoster1640]

I'm just getting to know him online. He's brilliant isn't he!

[@jonathanphillips5915]

"Advertising is clever, they know what we need, they just won't sell it to us." Love this guy haha 😊

[@zetetick395]

Haha! Yeah, like if Consumerism sold us things that could _actually satisfy us,_ the whole economic edifice would come to a stall (our dissatisfaction is integral to the function of a consumerist society)

[@jolinagan210]

Alain de Botton has a depth of intellect and insight served in his compelling narrative voice and tasteful wit. He constructs societally relevant talks that hit all the right spots for listening pleasure and intellectual gain. I’ve always thought he was an eloquent writer. Delightful discovery: Alain is an eloquent speaker too.

[@Tunawesmake]

Bits of your writing sound like him...sometimes it takes one to recognise another...

[@jolinagan210]

@Random Stuff hmm... and the reason for your cynicism?

[@averayugen1371]

@@jolinagan210 ummm look at my comment for a good answer. I just wrote it five minutes ago.

[@prateekagar88]

@@jolinagan210 Cynicism?! Girl, the dude is trying to compliment you.

[@realbobbyaxel]

@@prateekagar88 she was referring to someone else whose comment has either been deleted or flagged down

[@sobrevida157]

"If you know what you really need, you don't desire so many things"

[@lizaneva3065]

What do i neeeeed?????

[@johannessmith394]

Pretty much

[@true_xander]

This only phrase is a cross over the statement that capitalism is good and is helping poor. The capitalism is desperate to make us not knowing our needs, so that we persist as unhappy as possible and fill the void with meaningless consumption.

[@freeagent8225]

There would be so many people working, coming home, cooking looking after the kids without time to watch this. Having leisure time is a great luxury. Appreciate.

[@true_xander]

It's not that many people don't have that time, they just spending it wrong.

[@Aman-me8jb]

​@@true_xanderso truee!!

[@ArchiduquesaMA]

He is so charismatic and smart !! Such a global tresure

[@Mary.R.]

Listening to this in a library, and I had to stop myself from shouting 'Ghostbusters!' every time he asked "Who do you call?"

[@otamans]

Every Friday i watch his videos and then i start reflecting on my life.

[@muhammedadel3753]

This man's voice is sth special.

[@Erik-um7hq]

This man speaks fantasticly !

[@qq6035]

A true pleasure to listen to this lecture. With one exception: the problem of starvation in 1950s Germany concerned primarily allied-occupied territory (west) while Stalin made effort to feed his (eastern) zone properly. Right after the war it was more comfy to live there. It was after some time that the situation had reversed.

[@fairplayer7435]

One of the biggest untapped industry is the preparation to die. We are so wrapped up in living we ignore this fundamental reality, and assume that only owning life insurance is the answer.

[@averayugen1371]

Lonely people could teach the world about that topic. But no one makes money off human end- life PEACE so we are not supposed to know about it. But I need a job. Public speaking circuit about why most monetized crap on you tube is just more of the same endorsement of the life that is killing us all as soon as we are born. Don't buy it. Ask a lonely person for the truth and you will get it, and maybe a way to your own peaceful death when its time.

[@rebeckasvensson838]

Very intellectual. He got me started questioning and thinking about stuff on a deep level. Thank you for sharing!!

[@Jaget261]

Han är verkligen inspirerande och är en elegant talare. Vi människor behöver reflektera över liv lite mer och säga nej till saker vi inte behöver.

[@trakyaliibrahim]

There's no swindle about "higher needs being outside of commerce", his School Of Life is the very example of that. He talks about gurus and stuff. They're already in that market. Tech-companies, especially social media companies like Instagram are used the way they are by people who are trying to fulfill their higher needs. The very problem of the concept of a market that provides you Maslow's higher needs is the hipocrisy it entails. You can't buy love/belonging. You can't buy esteem. You can't buy self-actualization. There are organizations that are advertising you all of this, but they can't deliver it, no matter how much they try.

[@David-bc4rh]

@S Han This is where the spiritual retreats and lectures that ask for voluntary donation or labor in return stand out above the rest and are more likely to be suitable guides towards truthful experience aligned with science. I'm speaking from experience.

[@Noor-jw2tn]

@S Han...money... it ranks right up there with oxygen

[@justbeegreen]

@@David-bc4rh Curious, which retreats offer this option?

[@David-bc4rh]

@@justbeegreen Vipassana Meditation

[@justbeegreen]

@@David-bc4rh Thanks - yes, I experienced that in Japan and California. I think Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts offers something like this too.

[@keithklassen5320]

I'm so goddam glad we don't get our deeper needs met by corporations. Those are the most sensitive elements of our existence, and corporations are inherently uninterested in truly respecting their customers if they can fool their customers into paying for their deeper needs to be continually *not* met, which has been a wonderfully successful endeavour for them.

[@David-bc4rh]

but...corporations are people, too...

[@andrewhancock2451]

It's really the individual's responsibility to figure out what these higher needs are to him/her. The market place simply provides "things", some of which may help some individuals, but I think they rarely provide the solution. I suspect that it's also very not-black-and-white. What do you call a group for a particular interest, but which requires funding for membership so that they can resource specific initiatives? They are less motivated to fool people into buying useless gizmos and cater to an ideology. For those who are invested in similar ideology, it can provide much meaning.

[@true_xander]

​​@@David-bc4rhno they're not. Corporations are based on people, but they're entities of themselves with inhuman goals and morale. Replace humans with robots and corporation stays.

[@true_xander]

​@@andrewhancock2451you basically described a facade of a cult. If in future there will be corporations to meet higher needs, they would be more like religions with subscription, eventually replacing religions themselves.

[@David-bc4rh]

@@true_xander You are correct, of course. I was alluding to citizens united vs. FEC case where the courts ruled that corporations have First Amendment rights.

[@singintherain-e7h]

Alain de Botton always delivers excellent speeches!

[@aug.jam.1]

I was a bricklayer for some time and I loved it. Then I moved countries and am now an IT manager and hate it 😂

[@KelseyPoinsatteJones1]

Most brilliant conclusion of 2021 for me thus far...billion dollar industries on passive aggression and higher up maslow hierarchy of needs

[@RuthB-q1z]

You are so brilliant that from moment zero it's impossible to move away from this video : ) thanks for all you do Alain! keep going

[@drsfinesflaca24]

It’s crazy how there are so many therapist online now that u can just chat with! Genuine need💯

[@brunosantiago8961]

Like ?

[@joseemoudouthe6411]

Love listen you...I'm french speaker from Cameroon , doing my best to understand , because so interesting...hope will have french translation of your video

[@prateekagar88]

Alain, you marvelous human being!

[@marialuzarlenelegaspi3038]

All jobs can be meaningful but often our society tells us what is meaningful or not - If money and power were "important" factors then are so many unsatisfied worker in well-paid positions? It is clearly our mentality.

[@milwaukeebuds]

I really enjoy listening to that guy...

[@sergeypanfilov3397]

18:32 however, Advertising is so brilliant and beautiful and clever. because he knows what we need, it just refuses to sell it to as. Alain de Botton, love you. :)

[@TocaMuffin]

Another great talk. Thank you.

[@marilynbarker8255]

Sarah Parker He’s one of my favorites!

[@miyu14764]

03:18 The definition of a “meaningful job”

[@evelynbaron2004]

One additional comment on this delightful brilliant writer/thinker/talker; work and love; Freud. I am a child of a holocaust survivor; Victor Frankl; revise Freud -- artifact only because he was so entirely calcified by his followers, no patience with that stuff; work; connection; meaning. I don't think this means you have to find meaning in a meaningless job because you have to work to live, but it has to come from somewhere, and is inextribably (sp,sorry Francophone) linked with self-knowledge, that uncomfortable place no-one wants to dwell in but we all have to visit; and sometimes our unconscious mind directs in amazing directions our ability to find ourselves in creative pursuits, wherever we find them. Alain, je vous remercie.

[@-A-c]

"Meeting All Of Our Needs: Past & Present" There, fixed the title for ya, Alain. Not as fancy as using "emotional intelligence" but it works.

[@navneetyadav3941]

Thank you!!

[@ichdu7310]

Thanks, he is an amazing and brilliant person!

[@zetetick395]

If Consumerism sold us things that could _actually satisfy us,_ (sooner or later) the whole economic edifice would come to a stall! (our personal dissatisfaction is integral to the function of a consumerist society)

[@true_xander]

People blinded by capitalism would never agree with you. In fact, those people afraid of communism because it forces everyone to search and find their meaning, it teaches responsibility to ourselves and the society. The capitalism teaches the opposite: do whatever you want, just consume and you'll be happy (sweet lie).

[@leversandpulleys9274]

No one: Alain before he starts everything: "Who's here already married but.."

[@upagency9105]

his voice, is he from the channel school of life?

[@derinadebayo332]

Yup yup... Indeed it is

[@SimonCher]

The founding father no less!

Our leader

[@marinavildosola6753]

Lo sabía!

[@summerbreeze5115]

School of what?😅

[@jihyelee7140]

Thank you for the video. He is brilliant

[@danielcrimp4899]

Wow 😳this is food for thought 🧐 great talk 👌

[@g_dub]

Love this guys stuff

[@RizaldoMullings]

His point on luxury aiding the poor makes so much sense. I’d imagine being homeless in Dubai would be far more enjoyable than being homeless in Florida.

[@Julzchomovitch00]

I thought he meant through taxes, like buying luxurious goods will turn in more money that the government can reinvest in welfare and public health etc.

[@RizaldoMullings]

Julien Eric that’s definitely a contributing factor

[@andrezis]

@@Julzchomovitch00 indeed, but in services too, that will increase labour opportunities.

[@tchai91]

I’m not sure that any type of homelessness is enjoyable, but I do take his point about spending stimulating the economy to be able to generate more jobs etc, or the trickle-down effect. Unfortunately this can and has become a corrupted system when it becomes more like the trickle-up effect, when basic jobs, that in the past would have got you onto the bottom rung of the ladder, can’t even cover rent and food, and you notice that there aren’t any other rungs on the ladder to climb up.......just other ladders with bottom rungs. I don’t have a solution unfortunately....just an observation.

[@katarzynalindner594]

...or in Kenia.

[@evelynbaron2004]

I love Alain de Botton; he has been various described over the last decade as a much needed civilizer/ popularizer of ideas gleaned from the Great Thinkers to someone who, through making ideas workable in this world we all inhabit somehow …. become infra dig. From a long-time Monty Python benchmark person, I believe he would find these reactions -- in no way can they be termed informed observations - hilarious. I'd like to add an entirely extraneous comment about core topics in his corpus -- don't do social media -- and that is the pernicious effect of the Romantic Movement as we live it today. No quarrel; just an observation. It didn't begin like that. Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 12th century (anyone remember Henry II in Beckett or The Lion in Winter? that was her husband) …. while still in the south of France began the cult of chivalry which really meant knights wouldn't rape maidens or spit on the floor etc. but with Cretien de Troyes and the 1st written account of the myth of Camelot really was the first feminist, which probably accounts for Henry II shutting her up in a tower while he carried on with a teenager, which simply means nothing has changed very much over many centuries indeed.

[@porquettango]

Maslow designed a pyramid just for this reason .... :) because at the top there are so few people!!

[@susanrosegale6646]

Passive aggression couple therapy - that could go on all day. Hahaha....Brilliant idea! I do love your The School of Life. I use it, he doesn't - what is that business? Thank you! It DOES help! :)

[@rebeccad8568]

I love Epicurus and I love Alain de Botton

[@sobrevida157]

“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading - that is a good life. A day that closely resembles every other day of the past ten or twenty years does not suggest itself as a good one. But who would not call Pasteur’s life a good one, or Thomas Mann’s?” Annie Dillard "A Writing Life"

[@neilwalsh3977]

Gloriously entertaining

[@josh7910]

Great talk as always. One thing though: the title of the video doesn't really match the topic of his talk, should probably change that, maybe to the title of his slides.

[@David-bc4rh]

Yea it really has nothing to do with the experience of the common workplace. Its a nudge towards ethical marketing.

[@nevacassandra4949]

A BRILLIANT speech. I agree with Alain but what is a better alternative to capitalism?

[@evalinj3740]

I cannot believe I just heard a billion dollar speech for free. Thanks Alain, you’re a brilliant human being!

[@lauramorales8709]

Love this man.

[@bettybeteta2028]

Pierre Polliviere has nailed EQ to a T.

[@Larry21924]

I'm deeply impressed by this. I came across similar material, and it was truly remarkable. "The Art of Meaningful Relationships in the 21st Century" by Leo Flint

[@andrewhancock2451]

Most companies deliver physical goods, which by nature target the base needs. The higher levels are more abstract. Yes, they manifest as singers, poets, religious/thought leaders, but also as clubs and organizations based on shared interests. They have market products, too (CDs, books, shows, memberships). Of course, even the higher level of community that is offered online (or over the air as shows) has to be resourced with ads for products targeting lower needs (primarily, but higher level needs like vacations and insurance are included). I wasn't 100% in line with the explanation that having a luxury goods economy helps the poor by generating money that can be donated. In my view, it also creates a larger labour market, which reduces the proportion of unemployed. We will never eliminate "poorness", but we can mitigate it.

[@aoihana1042]

15:43 The 3 Fundamental Human Needs according to Epicureus

[@almaskarimli6743]

1.Analysed life 2.Freedom 3.Friendships

[@ayelenayelen2596]

great, as usual. Thank you !

[@liliane1240]

He’s an intellectual rock star

[@rozhansingerb6375]

I wish the subtitles did not move. I am distracted.

[@benjamincjholmes]

Was there a Q&A? If there was I hope it gets uploaded!

[@u03agc4]

Brilliant talk as always :) Alan what do you think of the work of New Citizenship Project on moving away from consumerism into what they call citizenship?

[@ganeshsankaran3413]

A different Alain I see here compared to the one in the debate with Pinker where he had a rather pessimistic outlook about technology, and about the future in general.

[@true_xander]

He is brilliant advertiser, no doubt, and he is doing his job here. I doubt he really believes what he says regarding capitalism economy.

[@marcuswaterloo]

Who you going to call? “Hello School of life how my we help you?...... We’ve got oneeee”

[@lauravegasanchez9890]

Hi there! I'm working as a volunteer in a career advisor foundation for kids at risk and I'd love to show this video to them. However, we are in a Spanish speaking country and I've noticed this video doesn't have Spanish subtitles. Is there a possibility for you to enable them?

[@robdavies4294]

incredible

[@zetetick395]

Lovely chap, great, enjoyable popular philosophy books! 😇 😈

[@neilwalsh3977]

Encore!

[@smartITworks4me]

Just another meaningful talk.. How long do you think will it take to change a societal system? [That's my billion-dollar question.]

[@aquickstory2196]

our highest needs are not for sale. humankind did not create life. do not understand it. cannot take care of it. need training or can pretend to know. will never admit ignorance. will pursue independence as the goal. independence from(?). freedom by(?). many will claim that God does not exist. but will quietly apply for the position. will do the job as a god. and expect the rewards. even demand it. manufactured chaos.

[@robotempire]

Wow love this critique of capitalism, an unexpected joy

[@navideology]

❤

[@puturro]

Who dislikes this???! I’m curious

[@jonasecke2571]

Great lecture, but sadly, I disagree with his optimism on technology helping us out of the current malaise. I think our neuroses might spark if we apply technologies to solving them.

[@jolinagan210]

Interesting perspective. Care to explain why and how exactly neuroses could be triggered should technologies be employed to "fulfil our higher needs", as Alain puts it? Assuming technology in the next 100 years would be sophisticated enough to navigate the complexities of the human psyche and generate solutions for these higher concerns...although this prospect seems unlikely from my perspective.

[@jocelynkelly3294]

Pride and luxury. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. I once heard someone say. "the rich people give the poor people work, a job." this is how capitalism works in the U.S. Nothing Changes and work is meaningless.

[@LambdaJack]

BitCoin's ProofOfWork for the win! Worth every eV!

[@classicalperformances8777]

friendship is the middle of the pyramid not the top

[@nickn1782]

The opening claim about work is vitiated by the fact of self-deception: _because_ we have this "beautiful idea" of meaningful work, many if not most people _tell_ themselves that that are happy with their meaningful work when, in fact, they are faking it.

[@collinslagat3458]

Mandavil was brilliant

[@damnit1402]

He's hot 😁

[@iamjustamazin]

Who do you call? KZbin, Reddit etc.

[@denasedaghat1122]

I basically luv him

[@gloriakummer5357]

2300: notice what is missing in a typical day. That is a new business idea.

[@amarchandd8281]

♥️

[@milekrizman]

12:50 - Swiss with british accent

[@Mateo-et3wl]

@0 he speaks french you clown. As if his name weren't clue enough that he's not from the german part of Switzerland

[@rodgeraarons8997]

Exploitation & Facebook. So true

[@petermcnamara7099]

I like Alain, but his trickle down economics have been widely debunked - super-rich luxury is killing the planet, and global tax avoidance is rampant. He's great on personal values, but maybe less so on wider economic and political theory.

[@crabwilde]

he is right about consumer capitalism and how it operates. its not trickle-down economics

[@rpazosc]

Please listen to the talk again, try to listen to bit that he says: "yes, luxury is the correct way" or the bit that he says :"Russeau was in fact right, luxury is bad".

[@emrysciaran]

The title of this doesn't really line up with his lecture.

[@kate-miawhite5633]

👌💖

[@elijahwiltfong4856]

Rake tips up. Manhandling the moss on the grange while we wait on the caribou, All while defending her freedom. Gnome- gardin shell, what will she do :)

[@bruceasadi4848]

If capitalism helps the average and the poor better, why Bernie's argument about the insulin off the border in Canada versus US and people's crying? Why Michael Moore's Sicko, and his ideas and arguments about Flint, ans also the gap we're observing today. Why the icecaps' melting and global warming and 3.5 billion hungry people in the new capitalist universe of ours? Why people struggled two times in a row, 2016 & 2020, for Bernie Sanders? Just to name a few!

[@karendeleon9347]

How is capitalism good for the poor? It seemed he jumped right to that conclusion. Capitalism is great for the rich and those well off, but seriously, an essential aspect of capitalism is the highest yield for the lowest cost, i.e., low wages. Unchecked grow, which forces the cost of basic needs above the reach of lower income people...just to name a few of its problems.

[@tintinlointain]

Because in a thriving capitalist country the overall wealth of its people compared to a non-capitalist country is higher. There will be better social security, a better health system, no starvation. That is not to say that the rich are not better off or that the system is perfect or that poverty is eradicated, but that overall the poor of a capitalist country are better off than the poor of let's say a communist country, because they profit of the excess wealth through better infrastructure etc. that is creates for all citizens.

[@Blackwizdum]

20:55

[@WellHiddenTreasure]

Why are we ok to say that 'capitalism will get better, the problems are growing problems' and yet when it comes to (communism which was mostly corrupt socialism) 'it will be like Germany in the 1950's '?

[@himanshugarg6062]

Superfluous luxury and spending.. I agree.. If I want to spend luxuriously on heroine, let me.. Trainspotting is life..

[@z0uLess]

The problem is that the generalist has become a specialist of the general in this environment of specialists. Philosophy is dying. What will be left is material conditions disguised as free will.

[@jesuisconne12]

Saying that capitalism is good for poor people is easy to assume when you're born in wealth. I love Alain de Botton but I can't agree with capitalism being the savior by monetizing our higher psychological needs.

[@joycechang10108]

Higher needs can be sought after and discovered, for free. Why pay for it if you know where to look? And seeking is part of the journey. I am not excited about billion dollar business corporations selling spirituality, or freedom, and people think they can just buy higher needs in a nicely packaged deal like headspace subscription, or only those with money can purchase freedom. I always enjoy Alain’s talk, but buried under his humor and intelligence there are also some over-generalized messages that I can’t quite agree with. Oh wait, isn’t that what church is?

[@evaluna8100]

Agree whole heartedly with your observation. I enjoy Alain’s talk and speeches and they make a lot of sense to me. But I felt the same way about this bit of corporations trying to fulfil our highest needs. Businesses cannot go there and it is a good thing. The process of self actualisation is a deeply personal one and the journey is what makes it worthwhile. Although I can imagine a future in a hundred years where neuroscience has advanced enough to give us customised experiences based on a very deeply intimate assessment of our personalities, it is not something I look forward to. It’s the stuff of dystopian nightmares as far as I am concerned.

[@claudiocecchetti3183]

Nice but s little too superficial describing the opposition between capitalism virtues and communism mistakes.

[@true_xander]

That's what happens if brilliant psychologist starts speaking about economy. I bet a lot of very poor people in the world won't agree with him about the morality of capitalism.

[@kyladio93]

3:36 so, a what about a sex worker? Reckon the majority of them feel they have a meaningful job?

[@true_xander]

20:48 that's exactly why I'm scared of the next 100 years of capitalism. Just imagine what sort of inhuman nightmare they produce if they move up the pyramid of needs with their products.

[@rejakali8762]

Help me today

[@reflectonthings3008]

Hmmmmmm i Will no more be ungry at capitalism😁🤓.good to know that there is a LOT to learn😬