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The Coddling Of The American Mind Summary

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A Look Inside: “The Coddling of the American Mind” In the September 2015 issue of The Atlantic, the article, “The Coddling of the American Mind” co-written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathon Haidt, was published. In this article, Lukianoff and Haidt make the argument that students of American colleges have become increasingly sensitive towards speech that could be deemed “offensive” or “triggering. And in an effort to appease students as well as avoid any possibility of a lawsuit being brought against them, colleges have become more willing to accommodate classes, by removing this type of speech from the curriculum. This has caused college students to become “coddled” or rather, students have become so sheltered against anything that could be …show more content…

The cases mentioned in the article, such as a Harvard professor being warned against using the word “violate”, can be easily found through other sources and- with a simple search- can be proven to be within proper context. Starting the article this way, Lukianoff and Haidt not only create a sense of credibility for themselves, but also give the readers a clear view of their stance on the …show more content…

This idea goes back at least as far as Socrates.” In the article Lukianoff and Haidt mention the Socratic Method- a method in which a person ask a series of questions leading into even more questions that (hopefully) eventually lead to an ultimate truth. This method forces a person out of their comfort zone and causes them to see an idea, or topic from multiple viewpoints. Lukianoff and Haidt (subtlety) reinforce this idea when they mention cognitive behavioral therapy. They define cognitive behavior therapy as “minimizing distorted thinking as to see the world more accurately. In other words, just like with the Socratic Method, cognitive behavior therapy has a person question their reality in search of a single truth. And just like with depression (one of the many mental illnesses cognitive behavioral therapy has been known to fix), the best way a person can overcome this mentality of “vindictive protectiveness” is by being exposed to multiple viewpoints that take them out of their comfort zone. This is a very important set up because it creates a firm understanding of the solution that Lukianoff and Haidt decided would be best for the problem that college students face today. They believe that it is not the fault of teachers’ or school administrations that have caused the mentality of students to have changed so rapidly, rather it is the faults of the legal system. They feel that the law should take into

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