What will I learn about: conquer anxiety and paranoia using the Stoic method of directly confronting and temporarily living out your worst-case scenarios?

Learn how to conquer anxiety and paranoia using the Stoic method of directly confronting and temporarily living out your worst-case scenarios.

What will I learn about: how the Stoic concept of fate can help you cultivate serenity by preventing self-blame during failures and keeping your ego in check during successes?

Discover how the Stoic concept of fate can help you cultivate serenity by preventing self-blame during failures and keeping your ego in check during successes.

What will I learn about: why Thomas Aquinas's effort to reconcile science and faith reminds us to keep an open mind and value humanistic perspectives just as much as hard scientific data?

Understand why Thomas Aquinas's effort to reconcile science and faith reminds us to keep an open mind and value humanistic perspectives just as much as hard scientific data.

What will I learn about: how Adam Smith's early insights on job specialization can teach modern leaders to help employees find meaning rather than feeling like cogs in a machine?

Find out how Adam Smith's early insights on job specialization can teach modern leaders to help employees find meaning rather than feeling like cogs in a machine.

What will I learn about: Explore Adam Smith's defense of the capitalist system and how using surplus wealth to fund vital social programs ensures that consumerism benefits the entire society?

Explore Adam Smith's defense of the capitalist system and how using surplus wealth to fund vital social programs ensures that consumerism benefits the entire society.

Great Thinkers

Simple Tools from Sixty Great Thinkers to Improve Your Life Today

The School of Life, Alain de Botton (series editor)

★ 4.2 / 5(397 ratings)

Start ListeningDownload QR code that opens AudiobookHub on the App Store

Try free on iPhoneScan to start in 5 seconds

Categories:

Motivation & Inspiration Philosophy

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why some of history’s most brilliant minds believed that the secret to a fulfilling life has almost nothing to do with wealth or status?
💡Did you know that the ancient wisdom of philosophers from centuries ago might actually hold the key to solving your modern-day anxieties and career dilemmas?
💡What if you could navigate your most difficult personal challenges by tapping into the ingenious perspectives of thinkers like Socrates, Nietzsche, and Virginia Woolf?

Listen to Great Thinkers — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Great Thinkers

✓Learn how to conquer anxiety and paranoia using the Stoic method of directly confronting and temporarily living out your worst-case scenarios.
✓Discover how the Stoic concept of fate can help you cultivate serenity by preventing self-blame during failures and keeping your ego in check during successes.
✓Understand why Thomas Aquinas's effort to reconcile science and faith reminds us to keep an open mind and value humanistic perspectives just as much as hard scientific data.
✓Find out how Adam Smith's early insights on job specialization can teach modern leaders to help employees find meaning rather than feeling like cogs in a machine.
✓Explore Adam Smith's defense of the capitalist system and how using surplus wealth to fund vital social programs ensures that consumerism benefits the entire society.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Great Thinkers

Mind Map

Great Thinkers

Stoicism+

Thomas Aquinas+

Adam Smith+

Lao Tzu+

Margaret Mead+

Sigmund Freud+

Jane Jacobs+

Jane Austen+

Actionable Advice+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9

How did the Stoics suggest dealing with high levels of anxiety about the future?

A. By constantly reminding ourselves that everything will work out in the end.
B. By letting go of high hopes and directly experiencing our worst-case scenarios.
C. By praying to the goddess Fortuna to grant us good karma.
D. By avoiding emotional attachments to earthly possessions.

Question 2 of 9

What modern tendency does the book suggest we can counter using the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas?

A. The tendency to blindly follow religious dogma without questioning it.
B. The habit of prioritizing consumer capitalism over social programs.
C. The dismissal of any viewpoint or idea that isn't backed by hard science.
D. The desire to rush through life rather than following its natural flow.

Question 3 of 9

According to Adam Smith, what is a major danger of job specialization in a capitalist economy?

A. It decreases the overall wealth and efficiency of a nation.
B. Workers may lose sight of how their individual tasks contribute meaningfully to the final product.
C. It prevents the surplus wealth from being used to fund hospitals and schools.
D. It leads to an overproduction of superficial luxury goods like snuff boxes.

Question 4 of 9

In the story of the vinegar tasting ceremony, why did Lao Tzu find the vinegar sweet?

A. He believed that suffering is an illusion created by the mind.
B. He felt that humanity's corrupt nature could be purified through contemplation.
C. He believed life is sweet when you follow its natural flow and harmony.
D. He recognized that the vinegar had been fermented using natural herbs.

Question 5 of 9

Based on her research in Samoa, what did Margaret Mead conclude about the stress experienced by teenage girls?

A. It is primarily caused by natural biological changes and 'raging hormones.'
B. It is a universal human experience found across all traditional societies.
C. It is largely the result of modern cultural conditioning and repressed attitudes toward sex.
D. It stems from strict gender roles imposed by early agricultural practices.

Question 6 of 9

According to Sigmund Freud, what is the likely outcome of strictly suppressing our desires and the 'pleasure principle'?

A. The development of a strong moral compass.
B. The formation of neuroses and obsessive behaviors.
C. A successful transition into the phallic phase of childhood.
D. Greater societal harmony and reduced aggression.

Question 7 of 9

Why did Jane Jacobs advocate for high urban density and mixed-use streets in cities like New York?

A. To maximize the commercial profitability of urban real estate.
B. To create open spaces with sprawling parks and wide boulevards.
C. To isolate residential areas from the noise of commercial districts.
D. To foster social cross-pollination, safety, and a sense of community.

Question 8 of 9

What moral lesson does Jane Austen convey through the relationship of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in 'Pride and Prejudice'?

A. True love requires accepting your partner exactly as they are without trying to change them.
B. Romantic partners should educate each other and help one another mature into better people.
C. Wealth and social status are the most reliable indicators of a person's true character.
D. Love at first sight is the only foundation for a lasting and successful marriage.

Question 9 of 9

What actionable advice from the Stoics does the book recommend to help correct our tendency to exaggerate our own importance?

A. Regularly observe the planets and stars to realize our insignificance in the grand scheme of things.
B. Keep a daily journal to record all the times the goddess Fortuna has intervened.
C. Fast for three days every month to appreciate the abundance of modern food.
D. Spend one hour a day in total silence to hear the natural rhythm of the Tao.

Great Thinkers — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
21 — How Stoicism Can Help Us Overcome Anxiety and Paranoia
32 — Thomas Aquinas Tried to Reconcile Science and Faith, and His Ideas Still Matter Today
43 — Adam Smith Reveals Some Keys to Improving Capitalism
54 — Lao Tzu Taught That Life Is Sweeter When We Follow Its Natural Flow and Make Time for Contemplation
65 — Margaret Mead’s Anthropological Research Taught Us a Great Deal About Sexuality and Gender
76 — Sigmund Freud’s Ideas About Pleasure and Childhood’s Influence Remain Relevant
87 — Jane Jacobs Showed That Fun Cities Need to Be Dense Ecosystems
98 — Jane Austen Teaches That Lovers Should Educate Each Other and That We Should Judge People Carefully
109 — Final summary

Great Thinkers Summary & Overview

Great Thinkers (2016) provides a handy guide to some of the most creative and ingenious people who have ever lived. These are thinkers who have changed the way we perceive and think about the world, and their wisdom continues to be highly relevant to people everywhere. By keeping these ideas close at hand and not far from our minds, the great thinkers of the past can continue to help us live better lives today.

Who Should Listen to Great Thinkers?

Culture vultures
Wisdom seekers
Students of the humanities

About the Author: The School of Life, Alain de Botton (series editor)

The School of Life is an organization that promotes general knowledge and culture. It believes that the humanities can help us develop emotional intelligence, wisdom, empathy, communication skills and much more. Based in cities like London, Amsterdam and Seoul, the School of Life produces educational films, as well as classes and therapy sessions.

Alain de Botton is the writer of multiple nonfiction books aimed at helping people live better lives by being intellectually curious and raising important questions. His previous books include The Architecture of Happiness (2008) and How Proust Can Change Your Life (1998).

Great Thinkers

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Great Thinkers — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Great Thinkers

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Great Thinkers — Full Chapter Overview

Great Thinkers Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Great Thinkers?

About the Author: The School of Life, Alain de Botton (series editor)

Books Similar to Great Thinkers