The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff (PDF)

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New York Times Bestseller • Finalist for the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction • A New York Times Notable Book • Bloomberg Best Book of 2018“Their distinctive contribution to the higher-education debate is to meet safetyism on its own, psychological turf . . . Lukianoff and Haidt tell us that safetyism undermines the freedom of inquiry and speech that are indispensable to universities.” —Jonathan Marks, Commentary“The remedies the book outlines should be considered on college campuses, among parents of current and future students, and by anyone longing for a more sane society.” —Pittsburgh Post-GazetteSomething has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising—on campus as well as nationally. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being and ancient wisdom from many cultures. Embracing these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who are able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to promote the spread of these untruths. They explore changes in childhood such as the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised, child-directed play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. They examine changes on campus, including the corporatization of universities and the emergence of new ideas about identity and justice. They situate the conflicts on campus within the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization and dysfunction. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A disturbing and comprehensive analysis of recent campus trends . . . Lukianoff and Haidt notice something unprecedented and frightening . . . The consequences of a generation unable or disinclined to engage with ideas that make them uncomfortable are dire for society, and open the door—accessible from both the left and the right—to various forms of authoritarianism.” —Thomas Chatterton Williams, The New York Times Book Review (cover review and Editors’ Choice selection)”So how do you create ‘wiser kids’? Get them off their screens. Argue with them. Get them out of their narrow worlds of family, school and university. Boot them out for a challenging Gap year. It all makes perfect sense . . . the cure seems a glorious revelation.” —Philip Delves Broughton, Evening Standard“The authors, both of whom are liberal academics—almost a tautology on today’s campuses—do a great job of showing how ‘safetyism’ is cramping young minds. Students are treated like candles, which can be extinguished by a puff of wind. The goal of a Socratic education should be to turn them into fires, which thrive on the wind. Instead, they are sheltered from anything that could cause offence . . . Their advice is sound. Their book is excellent. Liberal parents, in particular, should read it.”— Edward Luce, Financial Times “Their distinctive contribution to the higher-education debate is to meet safetyism on its own, psychological turf . . . Lukianoff and Haidt tell us that safetyism undermines the freedom of inquiry and speech that are indispensable to universities.” —Jonathan Marks, Commentary“The remedies the book outlines should be considered on college campuses, among parents of current and future students, and by anyone longing for a more sane society.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“Perhaps the strongest argument in Haidt and Lukianoff’s favour, though, is this: if you see this issue as being about little more than a few sanctimonious teenagers throwing hissy fits on campus then, yes, it is probably receiving too much attention. But if you accept their premise, that it’s really a story about mental wellbeing and emotional fragility, about a generation acting out because it has been set up to fail by bad parenting and poorly designed institutions, then their message is an urgent one. And it is one that resonates well beyond dusty libraries and manicured quadrangles, into all of our lives.” —Josh Glancy, The Sunday Times (UK)“Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s new book, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, persuasively unpacks the causes of the current predicament on campus – which they link to wider parenting, cultural and political trends . . . The Coddling of the American Mind is both an enlightening but disquieting read. We have a lot of challenges in front of us.” —Quillette, Matthew Lesh”The authors remind us of some of the campus happenings that, since 2015, have afrighted old liberals like me . . . In the end [despite some objections] I agreed with Messrs Lukianoff and Haidt that protecting kids has gone too far, and that some campus behaviour is absurd and worrying.” —David Aaronovitch, The Times (UK)”The speed with which campus life has changed for the worse is one of the most important points made by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt in this important if disturbing book.” —Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times“Rising intolerance for opposing viewpoints is a challenge not only on college campuses but also in our national political discourse. The future of our democracy requires us to understand what’s happening and why—so that we can find solutions and take action. Reading The Coddling of the American Mind is a great place to start.” —Michael Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg LP & Bloomberg Philanthropies, and 108th Mayor of New York City“Our behavior in society is not immune to the power of rational scientific analysis. Through that lens, prepare yourself for a candid look at the softening of America, and what we can do about it.” —Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director, Hayden Planetarium, and author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry “Lukianoff and Haidt explain the phenomenon of “helicopter parenting” and its dangers—how overprotection amplifies children’s fears and makes them less likely to become adults who can manage their own lives. Children must be challenged and exposed to stressors—including different perspectives—in order to thrive.” —Susan McDaniel, University of Rochester, former President of the American Psychological Association“An important examination of dismaying social and cultural trends.” —Kirkus Reviews”I lament the title of this book, as it may alienate the very people who need to engage with its arguments and obscures its message of inclusion. Equal parts mental health manual, parenting guide, sociological study, and political manifesto, it points to a positive way forward of hope, health, and humanism. I only wish I had read it when I was still a professor and a much younger mother.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America, and author of Unfinished Business “A compelling and timely argument against attitudes and practices that, however well-intended, are damaging our universities, harming our children and leaving an entire generation intellectually and emotionally ill-prepared for an ever-more fraught and complex world. A brave and necessary work.” —Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Emeritus Chief Rabbi of UK & Commonwealth; professor, New York University; and author of Not in God’s Name “No one is omniscient or infallible, so a willingness to evaluate new ideas is vital to understanding our world. Yet universities, which ought to be forums for open debate, are developing a reputation for dogmatism and intolerance. Haidt and Lukianoff, distinguished advocates of freedom of expression, offer a deep analysis of what’s going wrong on campus, and how we can hold universities to their highest ideals.” —Steven Pinker, professor, Harvard University, and author of Enlightenment Now “This book synthesizes the teachings of many disciplines to illuminate the causes of major problems besetting college students and campuses, including declines in mental health, academic freedom, and collegiality. More importantly, the authors present evidence-based strategies for overcoming these challenges. An engrossing, thought-provoking, and ultimately inspiring read.” —Nadine Strossen, past President, ACLU, and author of HATE: Why We Should Resist it with Free Speech, Not Censorship “How can we as a nation do a better job of preparing young men and women of all backgrounds to be seekers of truth and sustainers of democracy? In The Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt provide a rigorous analysis of this perennial challenge as it presents itself today, and offer thoughtful prescriptions for meeting it. What’s more, the book models the virtues and practical wisdom its authors rightly propose as the keys to progress. Lukianoff and Haidt teach young people—and all of us—by example as well as precept.” —Cornel West, professor, Harvard University, and author of Democracy Matters; and Robert P. George, professor, Princeton University, and author of Conscience and Its Enemies“Objectionable words and ideas, as defined by self-appointed guardians on university campuses, are often treated like violence from sticks and stones. Many students cringe at robust debate; maintaining their ideas of good and evil requires no less than the silencing of disagreeable speakers. Lukianoff and Haidt brilliantly explain how this drift to fragility occurred, how the distinction between words and actions was lost, and what needs to be done. Critical reading to understand the current campus conflicts.” —Mark Yudof, president emeritus, University of California; and professor emeritus, UC Berkeley School of Law”This book is a much needed guide for how to thrive in a pluralistic society. Lukianoff and Haidt demonstrate how ancient wisdom and modern psychology can encourage more dialogue across lines of difference, build stronger institutions, and make us happier. They provide an antidote to our seemingly intractable divisions, and not a moment too soon.” —Kirsten Powers, author of The Silencing “We can talk ourselves into believing that some kinds of speech will shatter us, or we can talk ourselves out of that belief. The authors know the science. We are not as fragile as our self-appointed protectors suppose. Read this deeply informed book to become a more resilient soul in a more resilient democracy.” —Philip E. Tetlock, author of Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction “In this expansion of their 2015 piece for the Atlantic, Lukianoff and Haidt argue that the urge to insulate oneself against offensive ideas has had deleterious consequences, making students less resilient, more prone to undesirable “emotional reasoning,” less capable of engaging critically with others’ viewpoints, and more likely to cultivate an “us-versus-them” mentality . . . the path they advocate—take on challenges, cultivate resilience, and try to reflect rather than responding based solely on initial emotional responses—deserves consideration.” —Publishers Weekly About the Author Greg Lukianoff is the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Lukianoff is a graduate of American University and Stanford Law School. He specializes in free speech and First Amendment issues in higher education. He is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate and Freedom From Speech. Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He obtained his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, and then taught at the University of Virginia for 16 years. He is the author of The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐My first thoughts after reading this book were, “I am glad I am no longer an active college professor: I never could walk on eggshells!”And as Lukianoff and Haidt well present, college professors, today, are walking on eggshells. Many are afraid to live up to their university goals of teaching the truth as they see it. Furthermore, they are afraid to support their fellow professors who do try to teach honestly for fear of retribution.But let’s back up: this book is not really about professors: instead, this book started as a serious observation that there is a rising rate of teen depression, anxiety, and suicides. But in the investigation of this problem, Lukianoff and Haidt discovered that this is but one of the outcomes. Among the other outcomes were the polarization of American politics, social injustices, and suppression of free speech, particularly on college campuses. And while Lukianoff and Haidt posit that these situations started in 2013 and continue today, I saw evidence of what is in the book as early as 2008 and perhaps even earlier at a state university. In other words, these didn’t just start with the “iGen” children coming of age at this time.Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt are well qualified to make such observations. Greg Lukianoff is the President of FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. He has served in this position for more than a decade. Thus, he has been a keen observer of the challenges that people have had to face in American education. Jonathan Haidt is a Social Psychologist and a Professor at New York University. As a professor and social psychologist, he has first-hand experience with students as well the ability to understand the dynamics within these populations.Lukianoff and Haidt present the case that there are three great “Untruths” that are underlying our treatment of youth today:1) What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker.2) Always trust your feelings.3) Life is a battle between good people and evil people.Note that the first is a perversion of Nietzsche’s famous dictum: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The second is favorite advice of many pop psychologists today. And the third is a simplistic view originating from religion: “us vs. them.” The authors present convincing evidence that these “Untruths” are active and lead to bad ideas of how to treat children.One of the predominant themes, in this book, is that Cognitive Behavioral Psychology, CBT, presents valid tools by which to evaluate and rectify the situations which create harm from these Untruths in American society. I very much agree with the authors here. If I were to evaluate today’s political situations, the very distortions that CBT points out are active and frontmost in American polarization.Then Lukianoff and Haidt examine how intimidation and violence originate. A very quick synopsis is the quote they use from Nelson Mandela: “When we dehumanize and demonize our opponents, we abandon the possibility of peacefully resolving our differences, and seek to justify violence against them.” Here, the authors show how words have become defined as violence and the misguided concept that people need protection for their safety against speech that challenges their previously held conceptions. This then makes it possible for “witch hunts” to occur.The features of witch hunts are they arise quickly, there are alleged crimes against society, the crimes are often fabricated, and the proponents of the witch hunts invoke fear into anyone trying to defend the accused. Witch hunts are used to generate mob cohesion and to create a “common enemy” to destroy.As Lukianoff and Haidt show, witch hunts are occurring on US Campuses today in a “call out” mob mentality where the prevailing beliefs are challenged. Internally, it appears that the “call outs” are being made from the left while externally, the “call outs” are being made from the right. It is important to note here that 60% of the professorate is identified as being Far Left or Liberal while only 20% of the professorate is identified as Far Right or Conservative.Some of the witch hunts have been created by the professorate, themselves, in asking for condemnation of a professor who challenges their ideologies. Thus, it suppresses free speech as well as suppresses critical thinking. The witch hunts, particularly at universities where the leadership has been weak, has resulted in both harm to the employment of professors as well in some cases, direct violence to the professors. Other professors who might agree with an “outcast professor” stay silent as they fear the same thing might occur to them.The authors observe a cycle of polarization. A typical “polarization cycle” looks something like this: First, a professor says or writes something that is interpreted as provocative or inflammatory, regardless of what the intent was. Then, an activist retells the story to amplify the outrage. Next, a multitude of people writes angry posts on social media and threatening emails to the professor involved. The college or university administration fails to defend the professor and may take steps to sanction the professor regardless of the rights of the professor. Lastly, people that hear the story distort it to fit their views as confirmation bias. Things are out of control, and each side views the other side as evil, thus negating any chance for de-escalation.“How did we get here?” Lukianoff and Haidt ask this very question. There appear to be six explanatory threads, but the threads do not affect everybody, and even amongst the people affected, the effects are different. The six identified threads are 1) rising political polarization, 2) rising teen anxiety and depression, 3) changes in parenting practices, 4) the decline of free play and the restricted opportunities for childhood independence, 5) the growth of a corporate campus bureaucracy, and 6) a rising passion for “social justice” for major events where the concepts of “justice” have been perverted. These deserve more treatment in this already long review.First, there has been a growing shift towards the left in the college professorate. With the controversial election of President Trump, the campuses have become hotbeds of resistive political activity, and this activity is inflicted on the student bodies. Thus, there is and continues to be “witch hunt” activity in the long practice of universities to bring to campus a diverse set of provocative speakers. The major reason for doing this is to expose the student body to diverse views and to create discussions leading to the use of critical thinking. Conservatives speakers invited on many campuses resulted in violent displays of resistance and then either harassed on campus to prevent them from speaking or disinvited to prevent further violence.Second, the rising trend in teen depression and suicides has fostered an atmosphere of expectancy of depression amongst the student bodies on campuses. This trend is more significant with females than males, although very recent statistics show a sharp upturn for males as well. Much of this is attributed to the use of social media, which projects a distorted view of appearances and reality as well as creates in people the feeling of being left out of various activities. There also is a feedback mechanism at work here: students are more likely today than in the past to seek out mental health counselors for anxiety. As the mental health bureaucracy processes these visits, it may well suggest symptoms of mental unhealth. This is expanded on in the fifth thread.Third, parents have developed a fear of letting their children have unsupervised play. In part, some of this was caused by the highly publicized child abductions. Another factor in this has been the passage of child protection laws and the arrests of parents under those laws for letting their children be unsupervised. A culture of “safetyism” (that is, the child must be totally safe at all times,) has been built up and reinforced. There has been the observation that children seem to be growing up slower than in past years with regards to maturity. There are class distinctions: parents of the upper middle classes have the resources to involve their children in sophisticated activities such as music and art lessons. In the meantime, parents of generally the lower classes have subjected their children to adversity and possibly uncaring relationships as the parent struggle in their daily lives.Fourth, the decline of free and unsupervised play has resulted in children less competent to face the world as they age. Children are not able to take small risks and learn from them. Children spend more time on mobile devices than in engaging in physical and social experiences. The socialization of children has suffered. Children no longer have the opportunity to solve small disputes without parents or other adults being involved. They now rely on “third parties” to take over when a situation arises where they may be disagreements.Fifth, the bureaucracies of universities and colleges have greatly expanded the enforcement of the culture of safetyism. As an example, presented by Lukianoff and Haidt, a student visits a counselor for anxiety. During the visit, the counselor makes a leading statement, “Oh wow. People feel very anxious when they are in great danger.” The student now is being led to perceive danger. But this is not the end of it. The counselor then doing their required diligence under the campus rules reports to the Dean of Students that there was a cause for a visit. The Dean then sends a note to the student “I received a report that others are worried about your well being. … you are to refrain from discussing these issues with other students and use the appropriate resources listed below. If you involve other students … you will face disciplinary action. …“ A fictional example? No, it happened on a campus (references to it are given in the book.)Universities are big business today, generating over a half trillion dollars annually. To support this revenue, they have created bureaucracies to perform research, education, fundraising, (who here hasn’t received a fundraising letter from their alma mater?) branding, marketing, and legal compliance. Students are considered to be “customers” with all of which that connotes. They are sold a product. “The customer is always right,” so that students are invited by the university to author their educational experiences according to their desires rather than towards the need of the education purportedly being received. As a result, the university overreacts as in the example above. In demands to reduce dissension on campus, (under the thread of movement towards the left,) universities have tried to restrict free speech on their campuses.Sixth and lastly, the concept of social justice has been distorted. There is no widely accepted definition of “social justice,” but it would involve people getting what they deserve (distributive justice) and that the rules are applied fairly (procedural justice.) Social justice when it is consistent with these precepts is beneficial. Such social justice would remove artificial barriers and treat all people fairly. Today, under the various laws created with good intents, such as Title IX requiring universities and colleges to divide universities resources between female and male participants fairly, there are unintended consequences. Social justice is now being applied to the outcomes of groups rather than looking at justice for individuals. It is now considered acceptable to harm people for the desired outcomes. Thus, the distributive and procedural precepts of justice are being violated while reducing the fairness to individuals.Lukianoff and Haidt propose a large number of fixes to these problems under the title, “Wising Up.” Most of these are direct and logical consequences of the six threads discussed. The universities and colleges have a lot to do to clean up their cultures. Lukianoff and Haidt are optimistic that they can do the work needed. Probably the best recommendations are, 1) reduce child access to social media in both time and type, 2) Allow children the freedom to play and develop their socialization skills, and 3) get rid of identity politics in the nation as this is fueling extremism towards both the left and right.

⭐It’s too bad the late Chicago columnist Mike Royko (1932-1997) and iconoclastic comedian George Carlin (1937-2008) are not alive today. They’d have a good ole time ridiculing today’s childlike mindset found on many colleges. This review is written by a sixty-two year old, pasty white, bald fart that has been happily married since the Stone Age and has two adult sons who are black. About a decade ago, a close friend, who is a college professor, was explaining to me about “trigger warnings” and “microaggressions” being more common on campus. It sounded surreal and antithetical to the main purpose of colleges and universities. ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ was published in 2018 and will give the reader not only a clearer understanding of the bizarre phenomena but also a great deal of helpful insight and tools to combat it on a personal as well as public level. The book is presented in a slightly academic format and each chapter includes a summary. The writing is approachable enough that I rarely had to look up a word and I’m far from being someone who struts around with a vocabulary inventory similar to Star Trek’s android Data.‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ correctly states that what many academics and students have created is “… a fundamental misunderstanding of human nature and of the dynamics of trauma and recovery.” Their hearts may be in the right place but their brains sure aren’t. The authors’ arguments in the book are an effort to explain how overprotective adults and college administrators are shaping students to be ill-prepared for the real world and are also contributing to intractable polarization in our society. The book covers such issues as how physically safe environments morphed into emotional safety zones on campus; how opposing viewpoints are squelched; the shift from “intent” to “impact” when communicating; the dangers of emotional reasoning; campuses disinviting speakers because of left and right protests by students and some educators; what are the contributors to increased polarization; why there are substantial increases in levels of depression and anxiety, especially in Generation Z; the development of paranoid parenting; the decline of play for kids; the ever-growing college bureaucracy implementing “safetyism”; why there’s an increase in social justice movements; how the campuses are a reflection of what’s happening in broader society; the evolution of colleges into a more corporate mindset and viewing students as customers; how this new college paradigm squashes professors from addressing potentially controversial topics; and how activists embrace the unrealistic childlike expectation of equal-outcome instead of equal opportunities. The book does an excellent job explaining how correlation does not imply causation. The authors are big advocates of cognitive behavioral therapy. One point that is not addressed in the book is that the colleges’ student/customer pool is shrinking due to birth rates, economic conditions, and demographics that are adding a lot more pressure and demands on administrators to attract the potential “customers.” Quite a few smaller places of higher learning have closed and many are struggling with huge budgetary deficits. The book includes a handful of helpful graphs.The examples in ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ of pandering to college students’ childish demands were disconcerting to me. There are oodles of examples in the book of ludicrous censorship. The authors stress that this new cultural dynamic is a recent phenomenon and might be only a passing phase if the majority of college administrators, professors, and parents stop feeding into their paranoia and pandering to the victimhood culture they helped create. Thankfully, our judicial system has repeatedly been slapping the wrists of educators, students, and administrators who have been using our First Amendment right to free speech as toilet paper. I don’t expect the electronic media to jump onto this healthy corrective bandwagon because there’s too much money to be made in stirring up anxiety in their customers. While I found the book repetitious, it was overall an illuminating, discouraging, and levelheaded examination of why colleges and universities have drifted away from their primary objectives in an effort to coddle students… excuse me, customers. Education is a vital bulwark of democracy, especially in its efforts to prod students into thinking outside their comfort zones and debating the merits of any given issue. Mr. Lukianoff and Mr. Haidt wrote this work in an effort to stimulate debate about what is happening, not only on campuses, but in broader democracy. I wouldn’t be surprised if some college students and administrators either try to ban ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ or demand the respective professors be punished.(P.S. If you find ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ interesting and helpful, I suggest Eric Hoffer’s ‘The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements’ that was published in 1951 and ‘Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress’ (published in 2018) by Steven Pinker.)

⭐Over 40 years ago, in Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man, there is a proposal at a Senate meeting to invite a prominent geneticist as a guest speaker. One of the radical majority objects, on the grounds that “his work is fascist, and we’ve no business to confirm it by inviting him here. The conservative Dean mildly objects, “’I had always thought the distinguishing mark of fascism was its refusal to tolerate free enquiry”. The lecture goes ahead, but is broken up with violence.This is the territory of this book, with an added dimension: modern students may be opposed to such speakers, but must be defended from them lest they be upset. Welcome to a subset of the snowflake generation.Lukianoff and Haidt begin by amplifying the “three bad ideas” which, they claim, lie at the heart of the modern tendency of “campus safety”. They then give several real world examples of how this thinking manifests itself, suggest reasons for how we got here, and finally propose some ways to break the cycle.According to the authors, many students now expect “not to be exposed to intolerant and offensive ideals”. It is argued that that the suppression on campus of opinion deemed to be non-egalitarian is not new, and can be traced back to Herbert Marcuse (hence, I believe, the fictitious but realistic episode in the History Man), but has developed due to a variety of factors. These include:-Reaction to perception of intersectionality. (I first met this term last week, when watching Bath University’s video “Why is my curriculum white?” – required viewing, I suggest.) This can increase the extent of polarisation between different groups (if you’re not a good guy, you’re a bad guy).-The tendency for social media to increase the frequency and intensity of “call-out culture” (naming and shaming for small offences against political correctness)-The belief that physical violence is a justifiable means of preventing the expression of “hateful” views, e.g. racism.As to how these factors came into play, some of the suggested causes are:-Universities have become more like large corporations, and like them have acquired an ever-growing army of administrators, for whom one main aim is to ensure students are “comfortable” – even if this means severely limiting students’ exposure to new ideas.[An example of this relates to the very article which was the origin of this book. A professor got his class to read the article, then asked them to discuss a controversial topic of their own choice (transgender issues). After the professor had said that the discussion needed to include the viewpoints of those opposed to some provision for transgender people, a student filed a “bias incident report” against him, after which the university did not rehire him.]-The students now coming to university – “iGen” arrive having had “less unsupervised time and fewer offline life experience than any previous generation”, which ill prepares them for confronting ideas alien to them. The authors suggest that this is not simply an Internet issue, as the preceding generation – the Millennials – were made of stronger stuff. As an example, the book contrasts a questionnaire given to parents of new first-graders in 1979, which majored on how independent the child was, and a modern equivalent concerned mainly with their academic level.The remedies the authors suggest are targeted at children, and include CBT, mindfulness and limitation of screen time. If the “campus safety culture” is as embedded as claimed here, and elsewhere in the media, it may take more than these techniques to shift it, but it’s a start.Bravely, Lukianoff describes how, several years ago, CBT helped him to overcome his own suicidal feelings. He uses this as an example of how to recognise cognitive distortion, the factor which influences so many modern students to exaggerate the impact of speech and ideas which do not suit them.You may or may not agree with the book, but it is valuable reading for anyone who wants to get a feel for current campus atmosphere, or is concerned about how it has developed. The raguments are generally well-presented, though the authors could havetaken slighltly more of their own medicine, i.e. included more content based on interviews with the “safety” school of thought.I started with Malcolm Bradbury, so I’ll finish with the statement, erroneously credited to Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. This, as much as anything, is the core argument of the book.

⭐This book is about the change in the way children born after 1995 were brought up. It is not just the authors who have noted a significant change. Others such as Ben Sasse and Jean Twenge have noted the change. The authors here pointed out that it was Twenge who identified 1995 as the cut-off year. The parenting attitude post 1995, amplified by increased use of electronic devices, caused parents and administrators to practice ‘safetyism’. That is what the authors refer to as ‘coddling’. Children are over-protected. Instead of leaving them to develop an immune response to peanuts, protecting children from contact with peanuts had the reverse effect, it caused an increase in peanut allergy in children. These children belong to the generation that is known as ‘iGen’. Over-reaction to speeches that offend, students demand that universities curb such speeches. The authors point out that those speeches may offend, but they are not violent and cause no physical harm. The conventional response, especially in a place of tertiary education, is to present opposing speeches so that the audience and students can evaluate the opposing views. That is no longer the case. Protests by students have led to universities cancel planned lectures or remove speakers whose views the students do not like. Two important changes have been noted. First, iGen grow up more slowly because they spend less time in social interaction. Secondly, the rate of anxiety and depression has risen rapidly. What has driven the surge in mental illness among the young? The authors point to the spread of smart phones and social media. Combined with a lack of training to deal with adverse comments, young people become more sensitive to criticism – and in social media, social criticism can be extremely harsh. The young need to be toughened, not coddled. Consequently, those children grow up into adulthood incapable of dealing with criticism. Everything becomes a harassment to them. This leads to the curtailing of enriching alternative views, and in turn, affect one’s understanding of justice. In this regard, the chapter ‘The Quest for Justice’ is enlightening. Justice, the authors point out, is multi-faceted. How do we redress the problem of safetyism? The authors recommend ‘cognitive behavioural therapy’, a simple guide is set out in the appendix to the book. The last part of the book also provides many ways to help overcome the impact of safetyism.The CD version is very clear and very well read, with a brief epilogue by Jonathan Haidt.

⭐Being a fan of Jon Haidt I very much enjoyed this book. Both authors explain the trends we’ve been seeing in both universities and society clearly and concisely. Being a psychotherapist who works at a university and having first hand experience with these issues, this book is a great help in my understanding. I’ve been observing for a while that the thinking patterns of (some) of the very far left (and also young people) are replicating all the very unhealthy cognitive distortions, which we often try and undo in the therapeutic setting in order to help people have happier and functional lives. It filled me with both relief and sadness to have my thoughts on this confirmed. Clearly the authors have explained all this in a way I never could, so for me it’s an excellent book and I would recommend this everyone whether you work with young people or not.

⭐When I went to University in Britain in my thirties, I looked forward to sitting at the feet of the intellectually gifted and thoughtful, engaging in discussion where varying viewpoints were defended or discarded and reading widely. in this book that makes for profoundly distressing reading, an arrogant, monstrous, unchallenged and self-righteous cadre of teenagers have been allowed to run riot on American campuses, causing mayhem at events, getting staff sacked and raising issues where none exist, all in the name of political correctness, an obsession with the ‘rights’ of minorities to the exclusion of all others and a scale of intolerance that puts Mao’s Red Guard in the shade. Shamefully, academe in America has capitulated to this nonsense allowing ill-formed, barely educated young people to disrupt learning, stifle debate and indulge in verbal and physical violence that might have been learnt in the re-education camps of pre-modern China. Haidt, unfortunately, is an honest if benign observer / commentator looking at solutions and offering explanations which while plausible and perceptive do nothing to stop this madness in its tracks. He is unreasonably optimistic in his conclusions. Revisiting parenting of Generation Snowflake etc might be a long term solution and even schooling for intellectual humility might help but at present a troubled and destructive group of teenagers are on the rampage and instead of ‘confronting and sending down’ the troublemakers, long time gifted academics are resigning, their careers ruined. A good book, who knows, perhaps Haidt is simply cataloguing the existential hell that is modern American life.

⭐Are good intentions and bad ideas setting up a generation for failure? This is the proposition in the subtitle of a provocative critique of western society built from analysis of the breakdown of diversity and polarisation within the United States which is creeping our way. The authors note trends alongside this polarization: increased adolescent depression, overprotective regimes in universities, pursuit of justice that makes the best an enemy of the good, obsessive use of phones and tablets, widespread play deprivation and more fearful parenting.‘Paranoid parenting… convinces children that the world is full of danger; evil lurks in the shadows, on the streets, and in public parks and restrooms. Kids raised in this way are emotionally prepared to embrace the Untruth of Us Versus Them: Life is a battle between good people and evil people – a worldview that makes them fear and suspect strangers. We teach children to monitor themselves for the degree to which they “feel unsafe” and then talk about how unsafe they feel. They may come to believe that feeling “unsafe” (the feeling of being uncomfortable or anxious) is a reliable sign that they are unsafe (the Untruth of Emotional Reasoning: Always trust your feelings). Finally, feeling these emotions is unpleasant; therefore, children may conclude, the feelings are dangerous in and of themselves – stress will harm them if it doesn’t kill them (the Untruth of Fragility: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker)’.In ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ free speech campaigner Greg Lukianoff allies social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to challenge these three ‘untruths of fragility, emotional reasoning and ‘us versus them’’ as contradictory to both ancient wisdom and modern psychology besides being harmful to individuals and communities who subscribe to them. A presenting problem is the use of social media by the passionate to rubbish people and not just ideas with loss of the time tested wisdom of giving people the benefit of the doubt. A deception that the world is made up of ‘Us versus Them’ is promoted by the same media as people live in ‘self-confirmatory bubbles, where their worst fears about the evils of the other side can be confirmed and amplified by extremists and cyber trolls intent on sowing discord and division’. Coupled to this deception is promotion of a safety culture in which people’s need to feel comfortable is put on the same level as their need to be protected from physical danger. The consequences for the rising generation is a certain naivety as they grow up protected from life experience they need to develop resilient living.The authors cite critically a quotation from an essay in EverydayFeminism.com: ‘In the end, what does the intent of our action really matter if our actions have the impact of furthering the marginalization or oppression of those around us? Such an understanding makes bigots of all of us who upset others with our views however pure our intentions’. Paradoxically distinguishing hurtful talk from harmful talk, a distinction widely accepted in ancient wisdom traditions, serves to help address the roots of conflict. This is why universities have been up to now loth to protect their students from ideas some of them find offensive bearing in mind the purpose of education as bringing people out of their comfort zones to make them think.Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is commended for rebuking a ‘pathological dualism that sees humanity itself as radically … divided into the unimpeachably good and the irredeemably bad. You are either one or the other.’ Western society is being crippled by disrespect shown in debates lacking humility in which people rubbish one another, blind to the truth that, whatever opinions they hold, all human beings possess both fragility and beauty. The authors mention unfavourably the oratory of Donald Trump and some of the things being said in the Brexit debate.What strategies can bring the world out of such error? The authors look particularly to religion as a source of transformative vision quoting Martin Luther-King: ‘Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend… Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’ It’s ironic that the vision that impelled King is getting increasingly obscured by those offended by religion’s immemorial place in the public square. This is a challenging, inspiring and timely book.

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