[L]ife is a phenomenon in need of criticism, for we are, as fallen creatures, in permanent danger of worshipping false gods, of failing to understand ourselves and misinterpreting the behaviour of others, of growing unproductively anxious or desirous, and of losing ourselves to vanity and error. Surreptitiously and beguilingly, then, with humour or gravity, works of art--novels, poems, plays, paintings or films--can function as vehicles to explain our condition to us. They may act as guides to a truer, more judicious, more intelligent understanding of the world.

It was a bestseller in the US and UK. What's in a Marriage?: Argues that expecting one person to be a good partner lover and parent is almost asking the impossible. —The Independent

Negative reviews allege that de Botton tends to state the obvious from a position of privilege and have characterized some of his books as pompous and lacking focus.

In August 2008 he was a founding member of a new educational establishment in central London called The School of Life. In October that year de Botton was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in recognition of his services to architecture. His books and television programmes discuss various contemporary subjects and themes emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life.