David's Reviews > The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

This is a fascinating but very disturbing book about how college students have recently been caught in the three great untruths. The first untruth is that one's feelings are the best guide to correctness. The second is that one should avoid pain or discomfort; what doesn't kill you makes you weaker. And the third untruth is that one should find fault in others, and not in one's self.

This book is not about helicopter parents, although they certainly contribute. It is about a new culture of safety-ism. In this culture, one should always seek safety, even emotional safety. If someone says something to you that makes you uncomfortable, then what he says is unsettling, harmful, and the person who said it is evil. Each person is either good or evil, and there is no middle ground. And, if someone says anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or stressed, then that person is evil.

From time to time, we hear about college students who protest speakers who have been invited to give talks on unsettling subjects, or who have unpopular viewpoints. The college administration is then pressured to retract the invitation, even though the speech is bound to be a learning experience for all. Sometimes a faculty member tries to help a student, is sincere and respectful, but a student takes the attempt the wrong way. The student raises a big stink, characterizes the instructor as harmful and therefore evil. Other faculty members secretly agree with the instructor, but are scared of voicing their dissenting opinions. The college administration is cowed into placating the students, and is not true to the mission of a college.

What is the purpose of a college? While some would argue that a college's purpose is to teach skills, an equally important purpose is to prepare students for their post-college life. After college, people are exposed to all sorts of viewpoints, including both good and obnoxious points of view. An important purpose of a college is to inoculate its students, to make them stronger for the future. The best way to do that is to expose students to differing points of view, even unsettling ideas, so that students can become more critical thinkers and not over-stressed by people of other persuasions.

Many years ago I went to a public university, and heard invited speakers give talks that were very controversial. Students who didn't want to hear these speakers always had the option not to attend. They did not protest against the speakers, depriving others of a learning opportunity. It was that simple.

This book takes the reader on a journey through recent events on college campuses. These events are extremely disturbing, and made me sick that today's students, teachers, parents, and college administrators are often so weak-minded. They have lost their way, and forgotten that while physical safety is absolutely important, emotional safety is not necessarily bad for one's health. But now I have a better understanding of what is happening in college campuses today.

I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by one of the authors, Jonathan Haidt. He is an exception to the rule--Haidt is an amazingly good reader, and I truly enjoyed listening to his narration.