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Anxiety

A marble bust of the Roman Emperor Decius from the Capitoline Museum. This portrait "conveys an impression of anxiety and weariness, as of a man shouldering heavy [state] responsibilities."[1]
MeSH	D001007

Anxiety (also called angst or worry) is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components.^[2] It is the displeasing feeling of fear and concern.^[3] The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness, and dread.^[4] Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to a stressor. It may help an individual to deal with a demanding situation by prompting them to cope with it. When anxiety becomes excessive, it may fall under the classification of an anxiety disorder.^[5]

Description[link]

A job applicant with a worried facial expression

Anxiety is a generalized mood that can occur without an identifiable triggering stimulus. As such, it is distinguished from fear, which is an appropriate cognitive and emotional response to a perceived threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is related to situations perceived as uncontrollable or unavoidable.^[6] Another view defines anxiety as "a future-oriented mood state in which one is ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events,"^[7] suggesting that it is a distinction between future and present dangers which divides anxiety and fear. In a 2011 review of the literature,^[8] fear and anxiety were said to be differentiated in four domains: (1) duration of emotional experience, (2) temporal focus, (3) specificity of the threat, and (4) motivated direction. Fear was defined as short lived, present focused, geared towards a specific threat, and facilitating escape from threat; while anxiety was defined as long acting, future focused, broadly focused towards a diffuse threat, and promoting caution while approaching a potential threat.

Anxiety takes several forms: phobia, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and post-traumatic stress.^[9]. The physical effects of anxiety may include heart palpitations, tachycardia, muscle weakness and tension, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, stomach aches, or tension headaches. As the body prepares to deal with a threat, blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, blood flow to the major muscle groups are increased, while immune and digestive functions are inhibited (the fight or flight response). External signs of anxiety may include pallor, sweating, trembling, and pupillary dilation. Someone who has anxiety might also experience it subjectively as a sense of dread or panic.^{[citation needed]}

Although panic attacks are not experienced by every person who has anxiety, they are a common symptom. Panic attacks usually come without warning and although the fear is generally irrational, the subjective perception of danger is very real. A person experiencing a panic attack will often feel as if he or she is about to die or lose consciousness. Between panic attacks, people with panic disorder tend to suffer from anticipated anxiety- a fear of having a panic attack may lead to the development of phobias.^[10] Anxiety is the most common mental illness in America as approximately 40 million adults are affected by it.^[11]

The emotional effects of anxiety may include "feelings of apprehension or dread, trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy, anticipating the worst, irritability, restlessness, watching (and waiting) for signs (and occurrences) of danger, and, feeling like your mind's gone blank"^[12] as well as "nightmares/bad dreams, obsessions about sensations, deja vu, a trapped in your mind feeling, and feeling like everything is scary."^[13]

The cognitive effects of anxiety may include thoughts about suspected dangers, such as fear of dying. "You may... fear that the chest pains are a deadly heart attack or that the shooting pains in your head are the result of a tumor or aneurysm. You feel an intense fear when you think of dying, or you may think of it more often than normal, or can’t get it out of your mind."^[14]

Nervous habits such as biting fingernails

The behavioral effects of anxiety may include withdrawal from situations which have provoked anxiety in the past.^[15] Anxiety can also be experienced in ways which include changes in sleeping patterns, nervous habits, and increased motor tension like foot tapping.^[15]

Symptoms[link]

The symptoms of anxiety include excessive and ongoing worry and tension, an unrealistic view of problems, restlessness or a feeling of being "edgy", irritability, muscle tension, headaches,sweating, difficulty concentrating, nausea, the need to go to the bathroom frequently, tiredness, trouble falling or staying asleep, trembling, and being easily startled.^[16]

Causes[link]

An evolutionary psychology explanation is that increased anxiety serves the purpose of increased vigilance regarding potential threats in the environment as well as increased tendency to take proactive actions regarding such possible threats. This may cause false positive reactions but an individual suffering from anxiety may also avoid real threats. This may explain why anxious people are less likely to die due to accidents.^[17]

The psychologist David H. Barlow of Boston University conducted a study that showed three common characteristics of people suffering from chronic anxiety, which he characterized as "a generalized biological vulnerability," "a generalized psychological vulnerability," and "a specific psychological vulnerability."^[18] While chemical issues in the brain that result in anxiety (especially resulting from genetics) are well documented, this study highlights an additional environmental factor that may result from being raised by parents suffering from chronic anxiety themselves.

Research upon adolescents who as infants had been highly apprehensive, vigilant, and fearful finds that their nucleus accumbens is more sensitive than that in other people when selecting to make an action that determined whether they received a reward.^[19] This suggests a link between circuits responsible for fear and also reward in anxious people. As researchers note, "a sense of ‘responsibility,’ or self agency, in a context of uncertainty (probabilistic outcomes) drives the neural system underlying appetitive motivation (i.e., nucleus accumbens) more strongly in temperamentally inhibited than noninhibited adolescents."^[19]

Neural circuitry involving the amygdala and hippocampus is thought to underlie anxiety.^[20] When people are confronted with unpleasant and potentially harmful stimuli such as foul odors or tastes, PET-scans show increased bloodflow in the amygdala.^[21][22] In these studies, the participants also reported moderate anxiety. This might indicate that anxiety is a protective mechanism designed to prevent the organism from engaging in potentially harmful behaviors.

Although single genes have little effect on complex traits and interact heavily both between themselves and with the external factors, research is underway to unravel possible molecular mechanisms underlying anxiety and comorbid conditions. One candidate gene with polymorphisms that influence anxiety is PLXNA2.^[23]

Varieties[link]

In medicine[link]

Anxiety can be a symptom of an underlying health issue such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, or heart arrythmia.^[24]

Abnormal and pathological anxiety or fear may itself be a medical condition falling under the blanket term "anxiety disorder". Such conditions came under the aegis of psychiatry at the end of the 19th century^[25] and current psychiatric diagnostic criteria recognize several specific forms of the disorder. Recent surveys have found that as many as 18% of Americans may be affected by one or more of them.^[26]

Standardized screening tools such as Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and HAM-A (Hamilton Anxiety Scale) can be used to detect anxiety symptoms and suggest the need for a formal diagnostic assessment of anxiety disorder.^[27] The HAM-A (Hamilton Anxiety Scale) measures the severity of a patient's anxiety, based on 14 parameters, including anxious mood, tension, fears, insomnia, somatic complaints and behavior at the interview.^[28]

Existential anxiety[link]

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, in The Concept of Anxiety, described anxiety or dread associated with the "dizziness of freedom" and suggested the possibility for positive resolution of anxiety through the self-conscious exercise of responsibility and choosing. In Art and Artist (1932), the psychologist Otto Rank wrote that the psychological trauma of birth was the pre-eminent human symbol of existential anxiety and encompasses the creative person's simultaneous fear of – and desire for – separation, individuation and differentiation.

The theologian Paul Tillich characterized existential anxiety^[29] as "the state in which a being is aware of its possible nonbeing" and he listed three categories for the nonbeing and resulting anxiety: ontic (fate and death), moral (guilt and condemnation), and spiritual (emptiness and meaninglessness). According to Tillich, the last of these three types of existential anxiety, i.e. spiritual anxiety, is predominant in modern times while the others were predominant in earlier periods. Tillich argues that this anxiety can be accepted as part of the human condition or it can be resisted but with negative consequences. In its pathological form, spiritual anxiety may tend to "drive the person toward the creation of certitude in systems of meaning which are supported by tradition and authority" even though such "undoubted certitude is not built on the rock of reality".

According to Viktor Frankl, the author of Man's Search for Meaning, when a person is faced with extreme mortal dangers, the most basic of all human wishes is to find a meaning of life to combat the "trauma of nonbeing" as death is near.

Test and performance anxiety[link]

According to Yerkes-Dodson law, an optimal level of arousal is necessary to best complete a task such as an exam, performance, or competitive event. However, when the anxiety or level of arousal exceeds that optimum, the result is a decline in performance.

Test anxiety is the uneasiness, apprehension, or nervousness felt by students who had a fear of failing an exam. Students who have test anxiety may experience any of the following: the association of grades with personal worth; fear of embarrassment by a teacher; fear of alienation from parents or friends; time pressures; or feeling a loss of control. Sweating, dizziness, headaches, racing heartbeats, nausea, fidgeting, and drumming on a desk are all common. Because test anxiety hinges on fear of negative evaluation, debate exists as to whether test anxiety is itself a unique anxiety disorder or whether it is a specific type of social phobia.

While the term "test anxiety" refers specifically to students, many workers share the same experience with regard to their career or profession. The fear of failing at a task and being negatively evaluated for failure can have a similarly negative effect on the adult.

Stranger and social anxiety[link]

Anxiety when meeting or interacting with unknown people is a common stage of development in young people. For others, it may persist into adulthood and become social anxiety or social phobia. "Stranger anxiety" in small children is not considered a phobia. In adults, an excessive fear of other people is not a developmentally common stage; it is called social anxiety. According to Cutting,^[30] social phobics do not fear the crowd but the fact that they may be judged negatively.

Social anxiety varies in degree and severity. Whilst for some people it is characterized by experiencing discomfort or awkwardness during physical social contact (e.g. embracing, shaking hands, etc.), while in other cases it can lead to a fear of interacting with unfamiliar people altogether. There can be a tendency among those suffering from this condition to restrict their lifestyles to accommodate the anxiety, minimizing social interaction whenever possible. Social anxiety also forms a core aspect of certain personality disorders, including Avoidant Personality Disorder.^{[citation needed]}

Generalized anxiety[link]

Overwhelming anxiety, if not treated early, can consequently become a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which can be identified by symptoms of exaggerated and excessive worry, chronic anxiety, and constant, irrational thoughts. The anxious thoughts and feelings felt while suffering from GAD are difficult to control and can cause serious mental anguish that interferes with normal, daily functioning.^[31]

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) includes specific criteria for diagnosing generalized anxiety disorder. The DSM-IV states that a patient must experience chronic anxiety and excessive worry, almost daily, for at least 6 months due to a number of stressors (such as work or school) and experience three or more defined symptoms, including, “restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge, being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless unsatisfying sleep).”^[32]

If symptoms of chronic anxiety are not addressed and treated in adolescence then the risk of developing an anxiety disorder in adulthood increases significantly.^[33] “Clinical worry is also associated with risk of comorbidity with other anxiety disorders and depression” which is why immediate treatment is so important.^[33]

Generalized anxiety disorder can be treated through specialized therapies aimed at changing thinking patterns and in turn reducing anxiety-producing behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) can be used to successfully treat GAD with positive effects lasting 12 months after treatment.^[34] There are also other treatment plans that should be discussed with a knowledgeable health care practitioner, which can be used in conjunction with behavioral therapy to greatly reduce the disabling symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

Trait anxiety[link]

Anxiety can be either a short term 'state' or a long term "trait." Trait anxiety reflects a stable tendency to respond with state anxiety in the anticipation of threatening situations.^[35] It is closely related to the personality trait of neuroticism. Such anxiety may be conscious or unconscious.^[36]

Choice or decision anxiety[link]

Anxiety induced by the need to choose between similar options is increasingly being recognized as a problem for individuals and for organisations:^[37][38]

"Today we’re all faced with greater choice, more competition and less time to consider our options or seek out the right advice."^[39]

Paradoxical anxiety[link]

Paradoxical anxiety is anxiety arising from use of methods or techniques which are normally used to reduce anxiety. This includes relaxation or meditation techniques^[40] as well as use of certain medications.^[41] In some Buddhist meditation literature, this effect is described as something which arises naturally and should be turned toward and mindfully explored in order to gain insight into the nature of emotion, and more profoundly, the nature of self.^[42]

Positive psychology[link]

In Positive psychology, anxiety is described as the mental state that results from a difficult challenge for which the subject has insufficient coping skills.^[43]

v t e Emotions (list) Emotions Adoration Affection Agony Awe Amusement Anger Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Arousal Attraction Caring Compassion Contempt Contentment Defeat Dejection Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Ecstasy Embarrassment Empathy Enthrallment Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Homesickness Hope Horror Hostility Humiliation Hysteria Infatuation Insecurity Insult Interest Irritation Isolation Jealousy Loneliness Longing Love Lust Melancholy Neglect Optimism Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Rejection Remorse Resentment Sadness Sentimentality Shame Shock Sorrow Spite Suffering Surprise Sympathy Tenseness Thrill Revenge Wonder Worry Diligence Zest Worldviews Compatibilism Existentialism Fatalism Incompatibilism Metaphysics Nihilism Optimism Pessimism Reclusion Social justice Weltschmerz Source: Parrott, W. (2001), Emotions in Social Psychology, Psychology Press, Philadelphia.

See also[link]

External links[link]

• Anxiety at the Open Directory Project
• Social Anxiety at the Open Directory Project

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Alain de Botton
Born	(1969-12-20) 20 December 1969 (age 42) Zürich, Switzerland
Occupation	Writer, documentary maker
Nationality	Swiss
Period	1993–
Influences Seneca, Marcel Proust, Montaigne, Stendhal, Gustave Flaubert
www.alaindebotton.com

Alain de Botton, FRSL (born Zurich, 20 December 1969) is a Swiss writer, philosopher, television presenter and entrepreneur, resident in the United Kingdom.^[1] His books and television programmes discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. At 23, he published Essays In Love (1993), which went on to sell two million copies. Other bestsellers include How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), Status Anxiety (2004) and The Architecture Of Happiness (2006). In August 2008, he was a founding member of a new educational establishment in central London called The School of Life. In May 2009, he was a founding member of a new architectural organization called "Living Architecture".^[2][3] 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.^[4] In 2011, de Botton was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).^[5]

Early life and family[link]

Born in Zurich, de Botton comes from a Sephardic Jewish family, originating from a small Castilian town of Boton (now vanished) on the Iberian peninsula. His ancestors include Abraham de Boton.^[6] His paternal grandmother was Yolande Harmer.^[7] His father, Gilbert de Botton, was the co-founder of Global Asset Management. His wealth was estimated by one source to be £234 million in 1999.^[8] He has one sister Miel and they received a secular upbringing.^[9] De Botton spent the first twelve years of his life in Switzerland where he was brought up to speak French and German.

Education[link]

He was sent to the Dragon School, a boarding school in Oxford, where English became his primary language. Describing himself as a shy child, he boarded at Harrow School, before going up to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read History (1988–1991), graduating with a double starred first (MA), and subsequently completed a Master's degree (MPhil) in Philosophy at King's College, University of London (1991–1992).^[10] He began studying for a PhD in French philosophy at Harvard University,^[11] but gave up this research to write books for the general public.^[10]

Writing[link]

De Botton has written in a variety of formats to mixed response. Positive reviews of de Botton's books claim that he has made literature, philosophy and art more accessible to a wider audience.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

Ambivalence is apparent in the following example,

de Botton's idea of bringing philosophy to the masses and presenting it in an nonthreatening manner (and showing how it might be useful in anyone's life), is admirable; the way he has gone about it is less so. —The Independent^[12]

Negative reviews allege that de Botton tends to state the obvious from a position of privilege^[17][18] and have characterized some of his books as pompous and lacking focus.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Essays[link]

De Botton has written books of essays in which his own experiences and ideas are interwoven with those of artists, philosophers and thinkers. These have been called a "philosophy of everyday life."^[23][24]

Fiction[link]

In his first novel, Essays In Love (titled On Love in the U.S.), published in 1993, de Botton deals with the process of falling in and out of love. The style of the book is unusual because it mixes elements of a novel with reflections and analyses normally found in non-fiction. In 2010, Essays in Love was adapted to film by director Julian Kemp for the romantic comedy My Last Five Girlfriends.

Non-fiction[link]

In 1997 he published his first non-fiction book, How Proust Can Change Your Life, based on the life and works of Marcel Proust.^[25] It is a mixture of a "self-help" envelope and analysis of one of the most revered books in the Western canon, In Search of Lost Time. It was a bestseller in the US and UK.^[26]

This was followed by The Consolations of Philosophy in 2000. The title of the book is a reference to Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, in which philosophy appears as an allegorical figure to Boethius to console him in the period leading up to his impending execution. Though sometimes described as works of popularization,^[10] Proust and Consolations were attempts to develop original ideas about friendship, art, envy, desire, and inadequacy, among other things, with the help of thoughts of other thinkers.^[3] In The Consolations of Philosophy, de Botton attempts to demonstrate how the teachings of philosophers such as Epicurus, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Seneca, and Socrates can be applied to modern everyday woes such as unpopularity, feelings of inadequacy, financial worries, broken hearts, and the general problem of suffering. The book has been both praised and criticized for its therapeutic approach to philosophy.

De Botton then returned to a more lyrical, personal style of writing. In The Art of Travel, he looked at themes in the psychology of travel: how we imagine places before we see them, how we remember beautiful things, what happens to us when we look at deserts, stay in hotels, and go to the countryside.

In Status Anxiety (2004), de Botton examines an almost universal anxiety that is rarely mentioned directly: what others think of us; about whether we're judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser.

In The Architecture of Happiness^[27] (2006), he discusses the nature of beauty in architecture and how it is related to the well-being and general contentment of the individual and society. He describes how architecture affects people every day, though people rarely pay particular attention to it. A good portion of the book discusses how human personality traits are reflected in architecture. He ends up defending Modernist architecture, and chastising the pseudo-vernacular architecture of housing, especially in the UK. "The best modern architecture," he argues, "doesn't hold a mirror up to nature, though it may borrow a pleasing shape or expressive line from nature's copybook. It gives voice to aspirations and suggests possibilities. The question isn't whether you'd actually like to live in a Le Corbusier home, but whether you'd like to be the kind of person who'd like to live in one."

In The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009),^[3] a survey of ten different jobs, including accountancy, rocket science and biscuit manufacture, which includes two hundred original images and aims to unlock the beauty, interest and occasional horror of the modern world of work.

In response to a question about whether he felt "pulled" to be a writer, de Botton responded:

So I think where people tend to end up results from a combination of encouragement, accident, and lucky break, etc. etc. Like many others, my career happened like it did because certain doors opened and certain doors closed. You know, at a certain point I thought it would be great to make film documentaries. Well, in fact, I found that to be incredibly hard and very expensive to do and I didn’t really have the courage to keep battling away at that. In another age, I might have been an academic in a university, if the university system had been different. So it’s all about trying to find the best fit between your talents and what the world can offer at that point in time.^[28]

In August 2009, de Botton replied to a competition advertised among British literary agents by BAA, the airport management company, for the post of "writer-in-residence" at Heathrow Airport. The post involved being seated at a desk in Terminal 5, and writing about the comings and goings of passengers over a week. De Botton was duly appointed to the position. The result was the book, A Week at the Airport, published by Profile Books in September 2009. The book features photographs by the documentary photographer Richard Baker, with whom de Botton also worked on The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work.

In January 2012, de Botton published Religion for Atheists, a look at some of the more interesting and consoling benefits of religions for those who happen not to believe in them. As de Botton put it: 'Religions are in the end too complex, wise and fascinating to be abandoned simply to those who happen actually to believe in them'.

Newspapers, lecturing and television[link]

De Botton writes regular articles for several English newspapers, and from 1998 to 2000, wrote a regular column for The Independent on Sunday. He also travels extensively to lecture on his works. He owns and helps run his own production company, Seneca Productions, making television documentaries based on his works.^[29] De Botton has given lectures at TED conferences. In July 2011, he spoke in Edinburgh about "Atheism 2.0", an idea of atheism that also incorporates our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.^[30] In July 2009, he also spoke in Oxford about the philosophy of failure and success, and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments.^[31]

Other projects[link]

[edit] The School of Life

De Botton's project from 2008 is The School of Life – a new cultural enterprise based in central London aiming to offer instruction on how to lead a fulfilled life. In an interview with metkere.com^[32] de Botton said:

The idea is to challenge traditional universities and reorganize knowledge, directing it towards life, and away from knowledge for its own sake. In a modest way, it’s an institution that is trying to give people what universities should I think always give them: a sense of direction and wisdom for their lives with the help of culture.^[33]

[edit] Living Architecture

In May 2009, de Botton was named as the chief inspiration for a new architecture project called "Living Architecture"^[34] – which proposes to build a series of innovative houses in the UK using leading contemporary architects. These include Peter Zumthor, MVRDV, JVA, NORD and Michael and Patti Hopkins. The houses will be rented out to the general public. De Botton's aim is to improve the appreciation of good contemporary architecture – and seems a practical continuation of his theoretical work on architecture in his book The Architecture of Happiness. In October 2009, de Botton was appointed an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, in recognition of his services to architecture.^[4]

Personal life[link]

De Botton has described his relationship with his father as difficult, stating: "When I sold my first bestseller (and a million dollars was peanuts for my father) he was not impressed and rather wondered what I was going to do with myself."^[35] When his father died, his family was left a large trust fund,^[36] although de Botton says his income is derived solely from the proceeds of his book sales.^[37][38][39] His stepmother Janet de Botton is a prominent patron of the arts and competition bridge player.^[40] De Botton lives in London.^[41]

Publications[link]

• Essays In Love (1993), also published as On Love: A Novel (2006)
• The Romantic Movement (1994)
• Kiss and Tell (1995)
• How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997)
• The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)
• The Art of Travel (2002)
• Status Anxiety (2004)
• The Architecture of Happiness (2006)
• The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009)
• A Week at the Airport (2009)
• Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion (2012)

Filmography[link]

• My Last Five Girlfriends (based on Essays in Love)

TV series[link]

• Philosophy: A Guide To Happiness (from The Consolations of Philosophy)

1. Socrates on Self-Confidence
2. Epicurus on Happiness
3. Seneca on Anger
4. Montaigne on Self-Esteem
5. Schopenhauer on Love
6. Nietzsche on Hardship (featuring Cathal Grealish)

• Status Anxiety (film)
• The Art Of Travel Prix européen de l'essai Charles Veillon
• The Perfect Home (from The Architecture of Happiness)

Radio[link]

In 2011 he presented a series of talks for the BBC Radio 4 series A Point of View.

• What Humanities Should Teach: Arguing teachers of humanities in universities have only themselves to blame for cuts in funding.
• News and Concentration: Examining our inability to concentrate.
• The Ecological Sublime: A philosopher's take on ecological dilemmas.
• Are Museums Our New Churches?: Argues that museums could learn from churches with regard to getting their message across.
• In Praise of the Nanny State: Asks why the idea of a Nanny State is so unappealing.
• On Marriage: Muses on why a bookish life is a poor preparation for marriage.
• In Praise of the Zoo: Muses on the value of exotic animals in giving perspective on our own lives.
• The Art of Conversation: Questions why we put so much effort into social encounters but leave conversation to chance.
• What's in a Marriage?: Argues that expecting one person to be a good partner, lover and parent is, almost, asking the impossible.
• On Social Climbing: Argues that social climbing should be seen as evidence of a natural curiosity about the modern world.
• Modern Parenting: Takes a witty look at modern parenting.
• The Advantages of Pessimism: Why pessimism is the key to happiness.
• A Point of View: podcast

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (January 2012)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alain de Botton

• Alain de Botton official site
• Alain de Botton official Twitter
• Living Architecture
• Open Library. Works by de Botton
• Compendium of reviews of The Consolations of Philosophy
• Archived web chat
• Interview with 3AM Magazine (2002)
• Alain de Botton interview: "The City as a Cure for Loneliness"
• Alain de Botton at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Colin Marshall
• Alain de Botton at TedGlobal filmed on July 2009: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success
• Audio: Alain de Botton in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion show The Forum

Josh Pais (born June 21, 1958) is an American actor of film and television.

He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (in which he both was in the costume and was the voice) as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty.^[1] He played Assistant M.E. Borak in 15 episodes of the series Law & Order, between 1990 and 2002. He also played the Spanish teacher in the film Assassination of a High School President.

Pais is the son of Lila Lee (née Atwill) and Abraham Pais, a Dutch-American Jewish physicist, professor and writer.^[2][3] Pais married actress Lisa Emery on August 27, 1990; the two have a son, actor Zane Pais.^[2] Pais and Emery divorced. Pais married Marie Forleo.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Josh Pais at the Internet Movie Database
• Josh Pais at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)