Alain de Botton is a philosopher with a decidedly 21st century edge. He is capable of presenting the works of the Philosophy masters in a way that is simple but not simplistic, while adjusting their ideas to reflect current day realities. It should not be a surprise that I first discovered de Botton via TED, where earlier this year he did a talk presenting a kindler, gentler idea of success. You can see that talk here.

The talk resonated with me and I went searching for more. What I discovered was an eclectic body of work full of deep explorations of everyday challenges from unique and interesting perspectives, the very definition of thought provoking. His most recent book “ The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work” dives into, well, work. In “ The Architecture of Happiness,” featured in the movie “ (500) Days of Summer,” he argues that architecture should play an important role in our happiness. “ The Consolations of Philosophy” led to a BBC series that can be seen below. Monocle recently asked him, and 24 other thinkers, what’s next for our world, you can see his answer here. 

If you want a tour guide to the world from a philosophical standpoint de Botton is your man.