The solution as consumers is - perhaps surprisingly - to take

In the contemplative and penetrating words of Alain de Botton, the modern philosopher of everyday life, there shines a wisdom both subtle and profound: “The solution as consumers is — perhaps surprisingly — to take adverts very, very seriously. We should ask ourselves what it is that we find lovely in them — the visions of friendship, togetherness, repose, or whatever. And then consider what would actually help us find these qualities in our lives.” These words are not a mere critique of commerce, but a meditation on desire — on what the human soul seeks beneath the glitter of the marketplace. De Botton calls us to see advertisements not as trivial manipulations, but as mirrors reflecting our deepest longings. For though the modern world sells us images of happiness, the true task of wisdom is to ask: what are these images really telling us about the human heart?

The origin of this thought lies in de Botton’s reflections on the philosophy of modern life — particularly in his writings on consumerism and meaning. Living in a world saturated by advertisements, he saw how every image — of luxury, beauty, friendship, or joy — is not simply trying to sell us an object, but to awaken a yearning. The glossy car, the serene couple, the smiling friends on a beach — these are not mere scenes; they are symbols of what humanity desires most: connection, peace, belonging, and love. Yet, as de Botton teaches, our mistake as consumers is to believe that these qualities can be bought. The wise, he says, should take adverts seriously — not to obey them, but to learn from them. They reveal what we secretly seek, and by seeing that truth clearly, we can turn our pursuit from the object to the essence.

For beneath every advertisement lies a truth misdirected. The perfume bottle that promises romance speaks to our longing to be cherished. The luxury watch that glimmers on a wrist whispers of our hunger for respect and the feeling that our lives have value. The image of friends laughing in the sunlight over a bottle of wine evokes our ache for companionship and warmth. The mistake of the modern soul, says de Botton, is not in wanting these things — for these desires are noble — but in confusing the symbols for the substance. The car cannot give us freedom, nor can the watch give us worth. These must be found within the inner realm — in friendship, in self-respect, in gratitude, in the quiet work of building a meaningful life.

Consider the story of Diogenes, the ancient philosopher who lived in a barrel, owning almost nothing. One day, Alexander the Great — the conqueror of nations — came to see him and asked if there was anything he could do for him. Diogenes replied, “Yes — stand out of my sunlight.” The crowd laughed, but the lesson is eternal: the freedom and contentment we seek cannot be bought with gold. Diogenes, though poor, possessed a peace that Alexander’s empire could not provide. In the same way, de Botton reminds us that the happiness sold by advertisements is a shadow of a greater reality. The beauty we admire in them is real, but its source is not in the object — it is in the human capacity to love, to connect, to live with purpose.

Alain de Botton does not scorn desire; he redeems it. He teaches that to “take adverts seriously” means to listen to our longings with intelligence. When we see an image of joyful friendship, we must not rush to buy what it promotes, but ask instead: how might I bring more friendship into my own life? When we envy the peace of the figure reclining in a meadow, we should not dream of the product beside them, but ask: what would it mean for me to rest like that — to find quiet in my own soul? To approach desire in this way is to transform consumerism into contemplation, and craving into clarity. The marketplace becomes not a battlefield of temptation, but a school for self-knowledge.

In this sense, the philosopher’s wisdom turns modern life into an ancient exercise of reflection. Just as the Stoics taught that every passion conceals a teaching about the self, de Botton shows that every advertisement, too, hides a message about what we lack and what we value. The task of the wise is to read these messages rightly. Instead of being seduced, we must interpret. Instead of surrendering, we must awaken. The goal is not to flee desire, but to purify it — to draw out its noble core and release it from the illusions that ensnare it. Thus, every billboard, every glowing screen becomes an opportunity for meditation: What is this really promising me? And what within me longs to believe it?

So, my child, take this teaching of Alain de Botton into your own life. Do not despise the world of images and objects, but learn to see through it. When desire stirs within you, follow it inward, until you reach its true source. Ask yourself: do I seek love, peace, freedom, friendship? And then, instead of buying what is advertised, create what is missing. Build friendship through time and tenderness. Seek peace through simplicity. Find beauty not in the possession of things, but in the depth of your seeing.

For this is the philosopher’s gift to the modern soul — to transform consumption into consciousness, to reclaim from the glitter of commerce the pure light of human longing. As Alain de Botton teaches, when we take our desires seriously, we cease to be prisoners of the market and become architects of meaning. We no longer chase what cannot satisfy; we cultivate what truly fulfills. And then, at last, we discover that the beauty we once saw only in adverts has been within us all along — waiting to be lived, not purchased.