Q&A with Author Alain De Botton
Q: Is it possible to be a good person without religion?
A: The problem of the man without religion is that he forgets. We all know in theory what we should do to be good. The problem is that in practice, we forget. And we forget because the modern secular world always thinks that it is enough to tell someone something once (be good, remember the poor etc.) But all religions disagree here: they insist that if anyone is to stand a chance of remembering anything, they need reminders on a daily, perhaps even hourly basis.
Q: What do you think of the aggressive atheism we have seen in the past few years?
A: I am an atheist, but a gentle one. I don't feel the need to mock anyone who believes. I really disagree with the hard tone of some atheists who approach religion like a silly fairy tale. I am deeply respectful of religion, but I believe none of its supernatural aspects. So my position is perhaps unusual: I am at once very respectful and completely impious.
Q: Are you nostalgic for the deeply religious past?
A: Like many people, of course I feel nostalgic. How is it possible not to feel nostalgic when you look at 15th frescoes or the rituals of an ancient carnival? However, we have to ask: how should I respond to my nostalgia? My thought is that we can use it creatively, as the basis for a rebirth, for the creation of new things, for the creation of things that later generations will feel nostalgic about... So it frustrates me when people say things like, 'Well, they knew how to build in the 15th century, now it is impossible...' Why! Anything is possible. We should not sigh nostalgically over religion, we should learn from them. We should steal from them.
Q: If we were to replace religion with a secular equivalent, who would be our gurus?
A: We don't need a central structure. We are beyond the age of gurus and inspirational leaders. We are in the age of the Wiki structure. This means that it is up to all of us to look at religion and see what bits we can steal and place into the modern world. We might all contribute to the construction of new temples, not the government, but the concerned, interested individual. The salvation of the individual soul remains a serious problem--even when we dismiss the idea of God. In the 20th century, capitalism has really solved (in the rich West) the material problems of a significant portion of mankind. But the spiritual needs are still in chaos, with religion ceasing to answer the need. This is why I wrote my book, to show that there remains a new way: a way of filling the modern world with so many important lessons from religion, and yet not needing to return to any kind of occult spirituality.
Q: Don't you think that, in order to truly appreciate religious music and art, you have to be a believer--or, at least, don't you think that non-believers miss something important in the experience?
A: I am interested in the modern claim that we have now found a way to replace religion: with art. You often hear people say, 'Museums are our new churches'. It's a nice idea, but it's not true, and it's principally not true because of the way that museums are laid out and present art. They prevent anyone from having an emotional relationship with the works on display. They encourage an academic interest, but prevent a more didactic and therapeutic kind of contact. I recommend in my book that even if we don't believe, we learn to use art (even secular art) as a resource for comfort, identification, guidance and edification, very much what religions do with art.
From the author of The Consolations of Philosophy, a deeply provocative and useful argument about how we can benefit from the wisdom and power of religion—without having to “believe” in any of it.
What if religions aren’t either all true or all nonsense?
The sterile debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally advanced by Alain de Botton’s astonishing new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false—and yet religion still has some very important things to teach the secular world.
Religion for Atheists suggests that atheists shouldn’t trash religion, they should steal from it—because the world’s religions are packed with good ideas on how we should live in and arrange our societies. In a highly original and readable tone that blends deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer himself) proposes that we should look to religions for insights on, among other topics, how to: build a sense of community, make our relationships last, dampen feelings of envy and inadequacy, escape the 24-hour media world, go traveling, get more out of art, and build new businesses geared around our emotional needs.
For too long non-believers have faced a stark choice between either swallowing lots of peculiar doctrines or doing away with a range of consoling and beautiful rituals and ideas. At last, Alain de Botton, the author of the bestselling The Consolations of Philosophy and How Proust Can Change Your Life , has produced a far more interesting and truly helpful alternative.
打开这本书的时候,我正反思自己以看书作为爱好的原因。同样地,在每次看完书后写下读后感的目的,应该不仅仅是针对某一本书的感想,而是,从一本书引发对自己生活的感悟。所以,写一本书与自己的故事的乐趣远远大于单单写一篇读后感。 买书,有惊喜,也有遗憾,在开始读一本...
评分看到书评里基本上都是四星、五星,也全都是夸这本书的,我实在是诧异。可能大概观点不同吧,不过还好看到有短评中写出这本书的败笔之处的。 首先声明我是德波顿的脑残粉,打心底里喜欢他写的东西,他的每一本书(翻译过来的)我都读过,抛开各种翻译的问题不讲,即使存在翻译上...
评分打开这本书的时候,我正反思自己以看书作为爱好的原因。同样地,在每次看完书后写下读后感的目的,应该不仅仅是针对某一本书的感想,而是,从一本书引发对自己生活的感悟。所以,写一本书与自己的故事的乐趣远远大于单单写一篇读后感。 买书,有惊喜,也有遗憾,在开始读一本...
评分一、关于读书 爱读书是个好习惯,非常值得提倡。但读书读得多,就一定牛逼吗?读书多的人似乎有一种优越感去瞧不起那些不爱读书的人,去嘲笑那部分人的无知。然而,书太多了,根本读不过来。开卷有益固然不错,但要从茫茫书海中挑出适合自己阅读的书真是件不容易的事儿。个人以...
评分1 《写给无神论者》已是阿兰•德波顿的第十一本书。而此前我第一次也是唯一读过的只是他的《哲学的慰藉》。那大概是六七年前读初二时候一个苦寒江南冬日的下午。因为是农历的大年初几,母亲在下午行将结束时在厨房准备着较之平常富有过年气息的晚饭。几乎是一口气把...
very thought provoking
评分开头和结束章比较闷,中间比如教育很好看,谈艺术那部分太短了,再展开点就好。虽然作者说一书之力绵薄,他的写作保持连贯关注人的内在世界,观点也在不断重申,是德波顿式的“宗教”
评分拿这本书做精读的。书本身对我的启发也特别大!
评分与我诸多困惑不谋而合
评分站在基督徒老师和同学面前介绍这本书,大家一脸疑惑,难道这是不是基督徒的圣经吗?其实就是作者对不是任何信仰的人怎么欣赏艺术,看到教育之类的解读。
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