Alain de Botton is a novelist and essayist turned social entrepreneur. His most recent project, the School of Life, aims to help people find fulfilment in everyday life. De Botton is a fascinating thinker. His TED talk – the subject of today’s post – is entitled Atheism 2.0 and offers some fascinating insights into what the non-religious can learn from religions.
I offer a brief summary of some of his best points below.
Firstly, de Botton argues that, for many people who do not subscribe to a major world religion, there exists a dilemma. Offering a topical example, he says, “I can’t believe in doctrines. But – and this is a very important but – I love Christmas carols”. There is a lot about religions that is very appealing to anyone, whether it’s the music, art and culture, the religious buildings or the ritualistic aspect of it. And so he poses the question: what aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt?
De Botton looks at education. He observes that education came to be seen as very significant, if not more significant than religion (in some circles). Initially its purpose was, like religion, to help teach morality, guidance and consolation… except through culture and information, not scripture. However, over time its purpose altered, until education became simply a process of information-giving. Nowadays, religions continue to believe we are human beings in need of help; education believes that we’re rational beings in need of information, not help.
On the topic of actually educating, de Botton notes that religions place a lot of emphasis on sermons. The educational equivalent is a lecture. And lectures are simply a process of giving information – once. One very important aspect of sermons is that they illustrate the value of repetition. Sermons repeat old lessons many times over, drumming in the lesson. Repetition is indeed a valuable educational tool that is somewhat lost, expected only of the revision process.
Another aspect of religion that de Botton highlights is the value of rituals. Rituals, he says, help to reinforce a philosophical idea through physical action. For an example, he looks at the idea of spiritual cleansing and points out how, in many religions, this is reinforced by the ritualistic action of ablutions and bathing.
De Botton then turns to art. He has some very interesting points on the subject. He states that nowadays, there are two very false beliefs about art that pervade society’s view of it: firstly, that art for art’s sake is highly valued – that art should exist in an almost hermetic bubble; and secondly, that art shouldn’t explain itself, again that there should be this aloofness to great art, that it should be mysterious and unexplained. Looking at religion, he says that art should be didactic. That it should be a tool by which we improve the modern world, by which we educate. Art shouldn’t be aloof, it shouldn’t exist as something superior and inexplicable – it should be useful as well as beautiful.
Lastly, de Botton makes a fascinating point about the power of collaborative action. Religions are almost like corporations in their structure – and this is to be admired, because it powerfully illustrates the mighty influence that can be had when a group of people with common ideology come together to act. Religious institutions are a great example of this.
Much, he says, is to be learned from religion… there are many example beyond what he has covered. For example, for somebody working in the travel industry, how valuable is the example of pilgrimage? How much could be done by extrapolating from that religious idea? Secular ethics has not adequately answered the problem of morality in a non-religious society. But by adopting many ideas from religion, much can be done and improved.
AWESOME INSPIRATION 