The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukainoff and Jonathan Haidt (2018)

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ Candid and bold, Lukainoff (First Amendment expert) and Haidt (social psychologist) tackle our society's growing ideological controversies with logical clarity. They discuss the origin and ongoing effects of what they refer to as "The Three Great Untruths" that plague society and staunch intellectual progress for the next generation. I found this to be an insightful look into the ideological problems that hold us back and a road map for a correction course into a brighter future. If you ever find yourself wondering, "how did we get here as a society?" this book will shed some light.

Mild Spoilers to Follow:

(This isn't going to ruin the book for you, but it will tell you what it looks at and why it's important)

Lukainoff and Haidt speak to a phenomenon that started around 2014 where people were divided enough on their opinions, that speaking them out loud became uncouth in public and academic settings. In an environment such as universities, where the sharing of ideas has always been encouraged for intellectual growth, this concept rapidly morphed into something deeply divisive. What happened? And why are we all tiptoeing around our opinions now for fear of offense?

On a personal note, when I was in school, my major exposed me to several classes that took on some of the most controversial topics in history: feminism, racism, classism, colonialism, homophobia, and bigotry. All these topics were openly discussed in the classroom setting because if we decided to bury our heads in the sand, we would never learn about experiences such as the American slave trade, the Nazi rise to power, the devastating effects of colonialism, the suppression of women throughout history, or the prejudice and violence against the LGBT+ community- we would be doomed to repeat history. Learning from authors' powerful stories or first hand accounts with these issues taught me so much about the world. Furthermore, listening to people's opinions in class, especially those different from my own, gave me pause to consider another point of view, another human experience. I can't express how valuable that is.

Yet, today, people are so hesitant and even outrightly against this exchange of knowledge. Why?

That's precisely the question that Lukainoff and Haidt ask in this book. They began to notice a trend on campuses where professors were afraid to teach for fear of repercussions, that depression and anxiety rates among young people skyrocketed, how parents tried to bubble wrap their children to ward off the difficulties of life, the damaging effects of social media, and the ever-expanding polarization of "Topics We Don't Talk About" in America.

Let's get into it.

Part I: Three Bad Ideas

They begin by offering up three Great Untruths people get caught up in: The Untruth of Fragility (the rise of safetyism), the Untruth of Emotional Reasoning (your feelings are always right), and the Untruth of Us vs Them (common-enemy identity politics). All three of these are examined closely, through a scientific and psychological lens, with corroborating examples or case studies. You'll likely find yourself thinking "oh yes, I've definitely seen this occurring in society". It does a good job of setting the stage and preparing the reader's mind to consider the arguments that are lined up in the next section.

To combat these Untruths, they also go through a list of 9 cognitive distortions and the basics of their kryptonite: CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) If you're like me, this will likely be an enlightening section where you find at least one on the list of cognitive distortions and think, "oh crap...I've done that." (It's okay, we all do sometimes) Armed with an understanding of the Untruths, society's use of cognitive distortions, and CBT, you're ready to move on and see all three in action.

Part II: Bad Ideas in Action

This next part takes the reader more in-depth with real-world examples of these Untruths occurring in college campuses across the nation. The authors examine the newer idea that speech is violence and will make people feel unsafe despite the fact that an idea cannot physically harm you. They also look at the sociology of witch hunts that start with a simple idea, email, or speech and rapidly divulge into calls for punishment, disinvitations and professional termination. Finally, they consider how "crimes against the collective" can lead to unnecessary and disastrous results in the form of "moral panics". I thought this section was methodical, but also caused me as the reader to feel angry by the small-mindedness that resulted in events being blown far out of proportion- very much to the authors' points. They do a great job of supporting their argument here and you have a good understanding of the problems the book focuses on.

Part III: How Did We Get Here?

Now that we, as readers, understand the problem America is facing, our authors begin to examine the causes of these lines of thinking, their evolution, and the end results.

They look at six trends they believe to be the main culprits: rising animosity and polarization in U.S. politics, increased depression and anxiety experienced by students who then seek mental "safe spaces" as a result, helicopter-parents and an increase in overbearing, paranoid parenting, a decline in unsupervised play that generates calculated risk-taking, the expansion of college bureaucracy and response to students wanting more intellectual protection, and finally, cultural shifts in the idea of "justice". The authors provide a wealth of information to consider in this section that really drives home their words of caution against these.

Part IV: Wising Up

This is where our authors begin to offer proactive, implementable solutions to the issues they've been discussing. It's directed at parents, teachers, professionals, and college administrators, but the takeaways can be garnered by the individual as well. Simply being aware of the cognitive biases people often present when faced with an opinion they don't like can help you understand their state of mind and perhaps guide a conversation to a more productive destination. Or, at least it will help you not set them off further to the point they're taking vindictive action against you. Lukainoff and Haidt examine an approach to parenting that produces wiser kids, to thrive in wiser universities, which will create wiser societies. I think we all can get on board with a little wisdom!

Final Thoughts:

I think this book does great job of highlighting the causes, issues, and potential solutions to the polarizing campaigns that academia and even the general public faces. Their 44 pages of fine-print notes and references for all their information makes it hard to argue with their level of research. I found myself learning not only a potential of why these things happened, but also how we can fix them by opening our eyes and minds to ideas we may not immediately agree with.

If you'll allow me, dear reader, to pontificate for a second, I'd like to consider the Greek Renaissance. During the 8th century BC, human civilization began to flourish in the Greek world. Advances in philosophy were a huge part of this and the ideas they discussed hundreds of years ago established a few pillars of modern philosophy, to put it lightly. Now, let me ask you this: do you think they achieved such towering intellectual advancements by tiptoeing around their Socratic Seminars, trying not to offend each other? Do you think they were incapable of intelligently discussing ideas with people they disagreed with? I should think not.

In closing, I learned, in part through this book, that talking and sharing controversial ideas doesn't have to be an uncomfortable, aggressive experience. Instead, we should approach these ideas with a gentle, curious mind. You never know what learning about a different point of view might grant you, what doors it may open, and what new ideas we may discover together. I challenge you with that.