has lived in the United Kingdom, where he studied philosophy, since childhood. His ‘philosophy of everyday life’, which consists of applying texts and themes of great minds to daily life, made him world famous. In works like Essays in Love (1993), How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), The Consolations of Philosophy (2000) and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009), De Botton demonstrates time and again the importance ‘grand thoughts’ can have for ‘ordinary’ people. In 2008, he began, in collaboration with others, his ‘ideal university’, the School of Life in London, where important questions of the everyday form the core of the curriculum. His own website: www.alaindebotton.com.