“I’m reminded daily what an ignorant, vain, irritable, choleric idiot I am,” says author Alain de Botton when asked what he’s learned about himself since founding a school designed to strengthen emotional intelligence. “This is a hugely helpful starting point for the School of Life, for I constantly have ideas about what I—and many other people—might need.” Developed in 2008 by Alain and a group of academics, artists, curators, writers, thinkers and entrepreneurs, the School of Life helps people develop emotional intelligence by using culture as a guide. “I came up with the ideas, and the team around me helped to make them happen, ” he says. “They’re brilliant—I owe them so much. Without them, I’d still be a pathetic guy dreaming big.” The School offers seminars on such topics as “How Necessary Is a Relationship, ” This story is from Kinfolk Issue Fifteen Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 19 Going Incognito We all secretly wonder what mischief we’d make if invisible: When our identity is hidden, everything seems possible. Arts & Culture Issue 19 The Best Policy Sometimes we talk to each other without feeling heard. Honesty—a most intimate interaction—can be just as thrilling as its more devious inverse.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 Going Incognito We all secretly wonder what mischief we’d make if invisible: When our identity is hidden, everything seems possible.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 The Best Policy Sometimes we talk to each other without feeling heard. Honesty—a most intimate interaction—can be just as thrilling as its more devious inverse.
