The Coddling of the American Mind

How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

By: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff

Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A timely investigation into the new "safety culture" on campus and the dangers it poses to free speech, mental health, education, and ultimately democracy

The generation now coming of age has been taught three Great Untruths: their feelings are always right; they should avoid pain and discomfort; and they should look for faults in others and not themselves. These three Great Untruths are part of a larger philosophy that sees young people as fragile creatures who must be protected and supervised by adults. But despite the good intentions of the adults who impart them, the Great Untruths are harming kids by teaching them the opposite of ancient wisdom and the opposite of modern psychological findings on grit, growth, and antifragility.

The result is rising rates of depression and anxiety, along with endless stories of college campuses torn apart by moralistic divisions and mutual recriminations.

This is a book about how we got here. First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt take us on a tour of the social trends stretching back to the 1980s that have produced the confusion and conflict on campus today, including the loss of unsupervised play time and the birth of social media, all during a time of rising political polarization.

This is a book about how to fix the mess. The culture of “safety” and its intolerance of opposing viewpoints has left many young people anxious and unprepared for adult life, with devastating consequences for them, for their parents, for the companies that will soon hire them, and for a democracy that is already pushed to the brink of violence over its growing political divisions. Lukianoff and Haidt offer a comprehensive set of reforms that will strengthen young people and institutions, allowing us all to reap the benefits of diversity, including viewpoint diversity.

This is a book for anyone who is confused by what’s happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live and work and cooperate across party lines.

©2018 Greg Lukianoff (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“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)

“Perhaps the strongest argument in Haidt and Lukianoff’s favour...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))

thought-provoking work

I think this book really tries to understand the phenomena occurring among college-age kids in the past five to ten years. I don't know if this is a complete picture of the forces causing the things we've all seen on the news, but it feels complete. I think the authors did a fair job of balancing the legitimate concerns of the kids described in this book with the very real issues those kids find so concerning.

What is happening to the iPhone generation?

In this timely and well referenced book, the authors, one a lawyer, Libertarian and free speech advocate, the other a social psychologist and professor in ethical leadership at Stern School of Business, address issues about the upheaval occurring on our college campuses. The lack of civil discourse characterized by the shouting down of invited speakers, "disinvitations" sent to other speakers, the destruction of campus property, physical harm done to teachers and administrators, and the social media attacks on professors and other students are identified and documented. The development of "safe spaces" and a sense of "uncomfortableness" resulting in a culture of "safetyism" that are experienced by these students are analyzed and their origins are traced to false ideas developed in present day American childhood and education. In addition, the authors point out that increased rates of depression and suicide in this "i gen" date back to the development of the iPhone and the growth of social media.

The social trends and the ubiquitous presence of IT and social media that have promoted the spread of "false truths" as well as the paranoid parenting practices that have taken away unsupervised free play are investigated. The growth of campus administrators, the treatment of students as "customers", and the increase in political polarization are also explored in the authors' attempt to explain the rise in intolerance for opposing ideas and the fears that are making our young people less likely to become productive adults. Their proposals and reflections on ancient, but wise truths, is an attempt to explain what is happening and to get our universities back on the track of being tolerant citadels of truth, learning and freedom of expression.

This is an important book for those, like me, who have been concerned and confused by what is happening on our college campuses today.

Somewhat too much, but very insightful

The authors dramatize the situation too much. I guess the have to to sell more copies and gain following.
BUT, the hypotheses deserve to be heard, and they are supported by compelling arguments.
Highly recommend. A must for all educators and parents.

A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!!!

Eye opening and insightful — please read!! I’m begging you!! Parents, young adults, educators, leaders, government officials — everyone. We are more polarized than ever and need to unite as a country!

Valuable overall, but has some issues

In my opinion, the author's diagnosis & succinct naming is by far the best thing about this book. It's obvious that there's something very wrong and deranged with their behavior, but until he offered "catastrophizing" and "othering" I didn't have succinct labels for it.

That said, while I wouldn't penalize a book just because I don't agree with the author, I did knock off one star (& I was tempted to remove a second) because a few things rubbed me the wrong way.

For example, referring to both Breitbart News and Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville as "alt-right" is either lazy or deceitful - Breitbart is *NOT* an "alt-right" publication. Also, while discussing the riots over campus speakers, the author implied that Conservative campus organizations invited increasingly radical speakers to spark outrage from leftists. The statement almost seemed like an attempt to justify the rioters' behavior. Frankly, that kind of justification helped encourage or facilitate the radical left's lunacy.

Obviously this book is far more balanced & insightful than corporate media, but that's not a high bar. Overall, however, the "good" outweighed the "bad."

Sensible yet provocative

This is a book that I would recommend despite some chapters making me squirm with disagreement. So rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, I persevered and kept reading. I'm glad I did. The victim culture and social justice warriors coming out of college when combined with social media, anxiety, and depression in today's youth is and will be a large problem that we, as a society need to acknowledge and fix because these are the new leaders of tomorrow. This book gives insight and suggestions to understand and fix many of these deep rooted issue that will affect all of us in the next decade.

Wonderful social observation

Jonathan Haidt has a knack for shedding light on social norms without being the least bit prejudiced or biased himself; while discussing general bias.

This is an exceptional book for anyone doing independent studies on society, especially the comparison of today’s adolescent population compared to past groups.

READ THIS, ‘Merca!

As a parent of I-Gens, I wish this work was available when I became a parent. This should be required reading for school administrators.

These concepts are absolutely necessary in order for the U.S. to avoid the fate of a house divided.

Great educational book.

Great educational book for parents. Awesome history on the further movement away from the middle that the Left and Right have both done. Really enjoyed it.

Great Book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It really supported its ideas with facts and experience. Great tool to put in the hands of our youth.