[5] It publishes various materials dealing with the topics of anxiety management,[6] emotional intelligence, relationships, work, creativity, and spirituality.

The School of Life was founded in 2008[4] by a group of academics, including author Alain de Botton.

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.

"[10] 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.

[11] Jeffrey Howard praises the company for its critiques of romanticism and efforts to foster emotional intelligence using philosophy, and 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.