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  • 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
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,037 ratings)
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The Coddling of the American Mind

By: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
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Summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Coddling of the America Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, read by Jonathan Haidt.

What doesn't kill you makes you weaker

Always trust your feelings
Life is a battle between good people and evil people


These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being, as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. And yet they have become increasingly woven into education, culminating in a stifling culture of "safetyism" that began on American college campuses and is spreading throughout academic institutions in the English-speaking world.

In this book, free speech campaigner Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt investigate six trends that caused the spread of these untruths, from the decline of unsupervised play to the corporatization of universities and the rise of new ideas about identity and justice.

Lukianoff and Haidt argue that well-intended but misguided attempts to protect young people can hamper their development, with devastating consequences for them, for the educational system and for democracy itself.

©2018 Jonathan Haidt & Greg Lukianoff (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Excellent...their advice is sound...liberal parents, in particular, should read it" (Edward Luce)

"An important if disturbing book.... Lukianoff and Haidt tell a plausible story" (Niall Ferguson)

"A compelling and timely argument against attitudes and practises that, however well-intended, are damaging our universities, harming our children and leaving an entire generation intellectually and emotionally ill-prepared for an ever-more fraught and complex world. A brave and necessary work." (Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks)

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What listeners say about The Coddling of the American Mind

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Great read

A must listen for anyone looking to make sense of what is society and it’s limitations today. Where can we improve?

Anyone as a partner or educator should have this in their repertoire to help them do a better job of both

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Good book.

massive help me and a great understanding about human behaviour. Alot of worrisome stories about the Orwellian school system of today.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An insight into intersectional thinking

A well written journey through bad ideas, from origin to conclusion. That then offers positive solutions to them.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Even Handed and helpful

This is not a polemic, rather it seeks to understand safetyism, its causes and effects and to chart a path forward to a more healthy place.

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A Brilliant Insight

A fantastic insight into the problems on modern university campuses.

A must read for all.

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A Must Listen

Very informative ! Well read with an amazing amount of insight and information. Have already recommended to all family and friends

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  • 07-10-21

Compulsory Listening for University Staff

It is a bad job when students can't listen to both sides of an argument. Opinions of "baddies" can be unpleasant to listen to, but ignore then at you peril. This holds so true in this day and age of filter bubbles it cannot be underestimated. I found this book very interesting, and I have gone to read further in to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectic Therapy as a result. The cancel culture is now witnessed here in the UK, and if you seek to understand it then this book is a good place to start.

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truly enlightening & so relevant

A counter argument to the predelection for unthinking partisanship, this book clearly sets out the problems of the current education system and fashions in parenting which result in intellectual fragility and safetyism. There have also been effective revolutions on campuses across the US, and the scourge of cancel culture, which the authors suggest could undermine the whole point of universities which should be the search for Truth.
Unusually for an academic text there are very practical chapters of suggestions for nurturing good mental health (CBT), establishing anti-fragility in young children, and, for college leaders, managing attempts to prevent speakers or unpopular viewpoints being expressed on campus.
It is a very humane and patient and calm book. And very clearly set out. And very honest. The authors state their political viewpoints as a way of establishing that they are talking in good faith.
Altogether very enlightening, accessible and scholarly. I loved it and will be reading The Righteous Mind next.

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A must read for those in academia

A great book in many respects, worth a listen for all those across the political spectrum

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Dangers of safetism

I believe Ive just read excellent explanation for majority of the mental health issues of human beings in any age.
Very good read, I wish it was translated into more languages.

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