It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Alain De BottonRead
The desire for high status is never stronger than in situations where "ordinary" life fails to answer a median need for dignity and comfort.
Interpretation
The pursuit of status often intensifies when basic human needs for dignity and comfort are unmet.
In this quote, Alain De Botton highlights the intrinsic human desire for recognition and esteem, which tends to swell in circumstances where one's fundamental needs for dignity and comfort are not adequately satisfied. When people feel overlooked or devalued in ordinary life, their yearning for higher status may grow as a means of compensating for these deficiencies, illustrating the profound connection between human needs and social aspirations.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about social hierarchy and the impact of unmet needs on personal ambition.
It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Taking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread
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Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.
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It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.
Who is to decide which is the grimmer sight: withered hearts, or empty skulls?
Free speech has been used by the Supreme Court to give immense power to the wealthiest members of our society.
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The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason.
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