Philosopher Alain de Botton

He Crawled Off to Think in the Bath

Alain de Botton is a philosopher and critic who is the founder of “Living Architecture” and “The School of Life”; his most recent books are The News: A User’s Manual and Art as Therapy. Before talking about how the news drives us crazy, he expounded on crimes against architecture, why he won’t eat liver, and the artists whose work he finds most soothing in the Zócalo green room.

Q:

What would your theme song be?


A:

Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”


Q:

What architect’s work would you want to eradicate completely?


A:

The guy who built all those Marriotts and Crowne Plazas around the United States. The guy who built Minneapolis airport, and all the airports I’ve been to recently. The San Francisco airport. Most of the modern world looks disgusting. It’s very, very sad. And we don’t know their names because there’s too many of them.


Q:

Do you have any recurring dreams or nightmares?


A:

Yes—I’ve got that one about the exam that I haven’t studied for that is suddenly looming. Being unprepared for something is a recurring one.


Q:

Who or what do you root for?


A:

I root for my kids, and hope they’ll enjoy life and not suffer too much.


Q:

What food won’t you eat?


A:

I won’t eat liver. It’s just too disgusting.


Q:

What artist’s work do you find most calming?


A:

I do like Sugimoto, and also the German artist Caspar David Friedrich; I find him very soothing.


Q:

If you didn’t live in London, where would you be?


A:

I would like to live in the Arizona desert, in a beautiful concrete cabin.


Q:

Where would we find you at 9:00 on a typical Friday night?


A:

At home, being very glad to be there. Once you’re over 30 you can be at home.


Q:

Who is your favorite Beatle?


A:

John.


Q:

Where do you come up with your best ideas?


A:

In the bath.