The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff. This book is the result of their very popular article in The Atlantic magazine.
Jonathan is a social psychologist and professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business and he is focusing on the psychology of morality and moral emotions. Greg is an author and activist and is currently serving as President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Jonathan and Greg reveal how the following ideas became established after 2013: students’ feelings are always right, students should avoid pain and discomfort, and finally students should look for faults in others and not themselves.
They also address three specific untruths that are part of a larger philosophy in which students are certainly portrayed as fragile who must be protected and supervised by adults.
However, by setting aside all good intentions, they indicate untruths actually harm students by teaching them the opposite of the basic foundation of wisdom.
Admittedly, much of this is driven by social media. In fact, look at our recently finished mid term elections. In fact, candidates for public office actually campaigned stating students were identifying as cats and brining litter boxes to school.
From phobia to schema?
In identifying (mid 2013) new elements certainly appeared across colleges: trigger warnings, microaggression policies, campus dis-invitations (regarding featured speakers) and safe spaces. The emerging idea is that “words” are actually going to harm students, not just offend them, or even make them angry — but actually harm them mentally.
Furthermore, this movement is focusing around a student’s need for “word protection” while on campus. Furthermore, these students are also looking towards administrators for those protections during their time on campus. Yet, what will be happening to students when they depart campus?
Is college still for free expression?
College students certainly need to embrace grit, growth, and antifragility. This is certainly important to address. The University of Chicago certainly has a long history as a leader in campus free speech. In fact, their Chicago Statement on Principles of Free Expression should be read in sync with this book and by every student and parent.
How will this play out?
LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media firmly addresses how social media negatively impacts society. While not specifically addressing college students, LikeWar reveals a deep understanding of the real-world impact a global connected world: American adversaries (China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran) along with American domestic terrorist groups all have access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Discord, and other platforms of social influence that are baked into student’s lives. Do you in fact understand the connection between social media and the disruptions within American society? If not, start with LikeWar and you will then appreciate the downstream impact to colleges across the country.
In conclusion, The Coddling of the American Mind is required reading for every college student, faculty, and staff member. In addition, college students and their parents must read UChicago’s Principals.