jonathan haidt the coddling of the american mind

They examine changes on campus, including the corporatization of universities and the emergence of new ideas about identity and justice. 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. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to promote the spread of these untruths. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who are able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Embracing these untruths-and the resulting culture of safetyism-interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development.

These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being and ancient wisdom from many cultures. How did this happen?įirst 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.

Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising-on campus as well as nationally.

Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years.

Jonathan haidt the coddling of the american mind