Restore meaning to our lives with philosophy. This is the mantra of Marie Robert, teacher and founder of four schools in France, creator of podcasts, successful author (editor’s note: Penelope’s Journey; Descartes for days of doubt; Kant, you no longer know what to do, there remains philosophy), and which feeds the Philosophyissexy Instagram account, followed by more than 200,000 people. For nine years, the philosophy professor has published a thought every day that she shares with those who want to fuel reflection and exchange. In his new book, The miracle of comfort (Ed. Flammarion/Versilio), she further explores her desire to create a connection.
FEMINA You write that for as long as you can remember, you have always wanted to be a philosopher of comfort. Where does this come from?
Marie Robert I have always been convinced that what characterizes us as human beings is that we all have a sorrow to tell. It is perhaps what connects us the most, whatever our culture, our age, our origin. To different degrees, of course. Philosophy has a claim to universality and what was universal for me was grief. Since childhood, my sensitivity has always pushed me to have tenderness for my sorrows and those of others.
Is comfort a universal and essential need?
In any case, it is essential. And anthropological. It is said that the idea of civilization is created on the basis of ritualizing pain and loss. One of the first civilizational gestures is to bury one’s loved ones. So indirectly, in the face of this loss, there is the comfort that follows. The gesture of being held in the arms, the embrace that allows us to reconnect through body and mind, we find it in all cultures and eras.
We don’t know where to find it anymore?
I believe in any case that we have lost sight of how important he was. We have been so caught up in separation from each other since the Covid health crisis, itself followed by multiple economic and geopolitical crises, that we have lost the basic idea. What we need as humans is not combat, opposition, but it is the visceral need to find the courage to move forward, this comfort. Whatever the ages. I work with children and CEOs alike, and I see how deep this need is.
You say that this book is a springboard to rekindle our joys, by observing what, around us, is still worth it. Isn’t this increasingly difficult to do given current events?
This is why I find it more and more urgent to do it. We are assailed by anxiety, by a generalized pattern of worry. I wrote this book between October 7, the attacks in Israel, and the legislative elections in France last July. Strangely, I found that it became urgent to deal with comfort. I told myself that if I listened to the news, I would only want to stop there and plunge into total individualism. We will have to continue, to find a collective solution, for people who have this desire for gentleness, for comfort, to make their voices heard.
Otherwise what will remain apart from violence, excess, bitterness? In an intimate way, the subject felt good to me, and almost in a political way too, because as a founder of schools, I want to tell children that it is worth moving forward. The subject of comfort is not anecdotal.
Are you thinking of a simple comforting break or is it deeper?
We are at an almost civilizational turning point. Either we are heading towards more barbarism. Either we take the other route. It’s not about getting under a blanket and drinking tea while burying your head in the sand. Giving power back to gentleness and comfort is a visceral need.
In the nine chapters where you unfold what can be comforting, you speak of love and wonder, but also of audacity and commitment. For what?
There really are variations of comfort. It goes from “I see a daisy in a field and I stop” to “I’m an activist for the climate, I’m radically changing my lifestyle, and I’m taking people with me.” When we are capable of committing to something that is important to us, we feel so full of strength.
How can everyday philosophy as you propose it restore meaning?
Philosophy often seems like a somewhat dusty, elitist subject. In France, it is a very masculine subject. In this book, on Instagram or in my podcasts, I wanted to show that there are other ways to do it. It’s an invitation to think, to stop, to dissect everyday life a little differently. The most fascinating thing is to see how people make it their own.
There is space for. This is what I want to show through my work. I’m just allowing this door to be opened. We see how much people need to be connected, to think, to have less structured time to think instead of being in performance or drowning in anxiety. We are capable of all that.
To read: “The miracle of comfort”, Marie Robert (Ed. Flammarion/Versilio)
Did you like this content? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive all our new articles!
Related News :