Organization:The School of Life

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Short description: Social media company about self help


The School of Life
Three 13 Solutions, Campus London LLP, ELOE Limited, STOA Limited.[1]
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
FounderAlain de Botton
Headquarters
Website{{{1}}}

The School of Life is a British multinational[2] social media company founded in 2008 by British author and public speaker Alain de Botton.[3][4] The company is headquartered in London.[5] It publishes various materials dealing with the topics of anxiety management,[6] emotional intelligence, relationships, work, creativity, and spirituality.

History

The School of Life was founded in 2008[4] by a group of academics, including author Alain de Botton. The curator, Sophie Howarth, is assisted by psychotherapists, artists, and educators.[7]

Publishing

As of 2016, The School of Life owns a publishing press named "The School of Life Press."[8]

Books

  • Great Thinkers (2016)
  • Relationships (2017)
  • How to Overcome Your Childhood (2018)
  • Anxiety (2019)
  • Big Ideas for Curious Minds (2019)
  • What They Forgot to Teach You at School (2020)
  • The Good Enough Parent (2021)
  • On Self Hatred (2022)

Criticism

The company has been criticized for its representations of philosophers and philosophical arguments. The Los Angeles Review of Books criticized a series of books by the School of Life as being a "vortex of jargon pitched somewhere between the banal banter of daytime talk shows and the schedule for a nightmarish New Age retreat."[9] Professor Hans-Georg Moeller of the University of Macau has criticized the School's video on Lao Tzu, stating that it used fabricated quotes and misrepresented the Tao Te Ching.[10]

The School of Life's YouTube videos have been criticized for allegedly promoting a nihilistic and pessimistic worldview. Some videos have also been criticized for promoting acts such as masturbation and for publishing explicit images of genitalia.[11]

Despite praising the company for its critiques of romanticism and efforts to foster emotional intelligence using philosophy, Jeffrey Howard argues that The School of Life offers "self-help for those who might need a bit more engagement with the intellect to consider the complete living that comes with also employing our faculties that operate from the neck down."[12]

References

  1. "Campus London LLP – Overview (free company information from Companies House)". https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC328999. 
  2. "International Opportunities". The School of Life. https://www.theschooloflife.com/about-us/schools/. Retrieved 20 September 2016. 
  3. "The School of Life: An Interview With Alain de Botton". HuffPost. 12 May 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-matousek/the-school-of-life-an-int_b_9916166.html. Retrieved 2017-06-20. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Wyndham, Susan (29 June 2016). "Alain de Botton and his School of Life come to Sydney". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/alain-de-botton-and-his-school-of-life-come-to-sydney-20160628-gptzip.html. Retrieved 2017-06-20. 
  5. "Londoner's Diary: Alain De Botton and his school exit Europe". London Evening Standard. April 10, 2017. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/londoners-diary-alain-de-botton-and-his-school-exit-europe-a3511641.html. Retrieved 2017-06-20. 
  6. "Preparing for Anxiety Management Training". Anxiety Management: 1–18. 2017-04-28. doi:10.4324/9781315172941-1. ISBN 9781315172941. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315172941-1. 
  7. "Faculty". The School of Life. http://www.theschooloflife.com/london/about-us/faculty-and-staff/. Retrieved 7 December 2016. 
  8. "The School of Life | Your Path to Mental Wellbeing" (in en-GB). https://www.theschooloflife.com/. 
  9. Levy, Lisa (2013-05-11). "How To Think More (But Not Better): Alain de Botton's School of Life" (in en-US). https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-to-think-more-but-not-better-alain-de-bottons-school-of-life/. 
  10. (in en) WORSE Philosophy Videos! School of Life on Eastern Philosophy - Lao Tzu, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3y7aiwp4sY, retrieved 2021-06-15 
  11. Kastel (2017-10-19). "The School of Life: An Education of Ignorance" (in en). https://mimidoshima.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/youtube-is-great-and-all-but-the-bad-apples-are-really-bad/. 
  12. Howard, Jeffrey (2019). "'The School of Life' Preaches Pessimism Over Romanticism." Erraticus. Retrieved March 18, 2023. [1]

External links