Alain de Botton is currently my favourite philosopher. I find him fascinating to listen to (might be somewhat related to his lovely accent) and I enjoy reading his books.
I’ve been watching some of his many talks/presentations recently and I’ve found this Ted talk he gave in 2009 very interesting. In his “A kinder, gentler philosophy of success” Ted talk, Alain discusses why our society has an individualistic drive for success. I especially found his point regarding meritocracy very thought-provoking. The idea of meritocracy seems like a valid and noble pursuit on the surface until you consider the people who fail while likely trying to succeed.
Alain also points out that success is difficult to define. Success means different things to different people.
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