Jon Haidt on The Coddling of the American Mind and How We Should Address It

The suppression of free speech on college campuses isn’t a new thing, says Jon Haidt, social psychologist at New York University Stern School of Business. In the past, however, it seems to have been guided mostly by the professoriate and administrations rather than the students.
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Haidt says student-driven speech suppression is a relatively new phenomenon. “It was after the Yale protests that everything really spread,” Haidt says, “and that was only thirteen or fourteen months ago.”
According to Haidt, one of the root causes of the shift toward a leftist academia was the Baby Boomers who rushed to avoid the Vietnam war. However, the ideas behind PC and microaggressions didn’t catch on for several decades. “The thing people were not expecting, was that the students are the ones who are demanding [political correctness] now,” Haidt says. “Before, it was typically the students who were demanding more freedom.”
This can have a chilling effect on discourse at universities, Haidt says. “At some schools, the men feel they can’t speak and then they go and vote for Trump.”
Reason TV's Nick Gillespie sat down with Haidt at the International Students for Liberty Conference to discuss the rise of political correctness and the cultural implications it brings with it.
Produced by Mark McDaniel. Cameras by McDaniel, Joshua Swain, and Todd Krainin. Graphics by Meredith Bragg.

[@KD-xf6kf]

I remember as a grade school kid I used to leave my house for hours to wander in the woods, in the nearby fields and orchards, walking over a mile to my friend's house alone, with no cell phone, with no real limit or check ins from adults. Now people in my apartment complex drive their kids two blocks to school. Overprotection is really messing people up.

[@rainmanslim4611]

Kelly Dulak when i was young i used to live near a wooded area on the outskirts of my small country town. every day my brother and i would wander and play in those woods for hours, sometimes even staying out there overnight, we played hocket and football, we got hurt regularly. and now when i went to college last year, i couldnt believe how coddled, how sheltered, how utterly hopelessly dependant on being "protected" by those in power. these SJW types are the lost generation of the west. in tbe few years they've had any measure of institutional power they INSTANTLY caused it to fall apart, they alienate and seek to destroy anyone who threatens their fantasy vision of the world.

[@Captain_MonsterFart]

I know, I almost never saw kids even playing in their own yards when i lived in Vancouver BC. I know a handful of kids who simply refuse to play outside without grown ups. "Screen time" is the other half of that problem.

[@myleshagar9722]

@@Captain_MonsterFart In British Columbia province (Vancouver), children under 12 not supervised by an adult can, and are supposed to be, reported to authorities. Parents are in constant fear of possible state abduction.

[@aluminumdragonfly]

Myles Hagar - Can you provide specifics to back up your claim that unsupervised children under 12 are supposed to be reported to authorities? I've lived in Vancouver BC for many years, I pay close attention to what's going on and I've never heard of such a requirement.

[@zxyatiywariii8]

Even though I was born in a bad part of the South Bronx, we kids used to run around on our own all day long, playing stickball and double-dutch, exploring old burnt-out tenements, and "roof tripping" (as my best friend used to call it) -- Leaping from the roof of a taller building to the roof of a shorter building. They weren't very far apart, probably about three feet or one meter; but the alley below was like 6 storeys down. We had to invent our own games, and I think that creativity has helped us become more resilient as adults. It even started my permanent interest in rescuing and rehabilitating animals, which I still do today, all because I rescued and raised a little orphaned mouse when I was a little girl.

[@keithbarnett3055]

I was getting my B.A. in fine arts during the mid-nineties, and the victimhood culture was already fully entrenched in that department. The students would be required to have group critiques of our work and I dubbed critique time as "group-therapy" time. There were two type of student artists, those that wanted to develop their skills, and those that wanted to develop their personal victimhood narratives. The majority opinion among the students and professors is that those artists with a victim or political narrative where the "true" artists, while those who wanted to develop their technique and skills were "sell-outs". It wasn't until a few years out of university that I discovered there was underground counter revolution in the arts occurring. The community of artists that value a more traditionally liberal exploration of the arts have come to the conclusion that universities are *not* the place to go for that kind of education. It's happening outside the university system.

[@cometier]

4 years later we are living in the predicted future

[@c.b.4270]

The " covid pandemic" / way it's handeld will make the current generation of kids even more fragile/ unable to live as a free self responsible person 🤯

[@kicknadeadcat]

I have a friend who is a nurse in New York City school. It’s a private school and the children that go there are extremely sheltered children. Children with all sorts of identity problems and psychological issues. She says the children in this private school are so fragile and so coddled that she was called into Principals office to discuss why she touched the children and her daily job activity. As a nurse she checks their pulse she takes their blood pressure she checks for fever etc.. They actually had a meeting to discuss whether it was proper for her to touch any of the children. In the end they said it was OK. This is what it’s becoming, she was in their space and they could not handle that and reported her.

[@nanochase]

I'm a returning engineering student in Houston, so I'm about five years older than most of my colleagues. While I have noticed some apprehension from the faculty, and semester emails from the chancellor about hate speech, I think the big source is those damn phones. While I'm writing down notes in class or running stress simulations in the computer lab nearly everyone is looking at their social media garbage, vicariously living their own lives and the lives and pasts of strangers on the internet. The problem is that this setup never forgets and never forgives, so one mistake (which will be recorded!) and your life is ruined unless you change your name, otherwise an employer who likes us will skip you over when that argument with your partner from college pops up on Google. Its inhumane you cant make any mistakes unless you risk being attacked or doxed online for the crime of having an emotional moment.

[@alexhernandez671]

nanochase very well said. there is no mercy for anyone with the wrong opinion.

[@nanochase]

alex hernandez since so much of our lives are now being recorded and commented on for perpetuity, we seem to be entering a weird new Victorian era of prudeness. Any social mistake is a big problem now, Even really personal issues ( such as sex or romantics) are even broadcasted. everyone acts like reporter in a desperate attempt to get views on the next viral sensation. so despite the assumed hormonally charged environment of college there are far fewer friends and far more celibacy, Thank God for my boyfriend!

[@elchar8225]

From my perspective, the real issue is that we have it so good in the west that we are inventing problems. To impact this more, people are making a living off of this by selling books, selling broadcasts, selling ideas, and more all through them damn vicarious apparatuses. Critical thinking is needed now more than ever.

[@celestes1630]

Jason Close p

[@fgougeon3268]

It's creating hyper-conformist individuals. Right now there are two "camps" who are in balance (so-called liberals and conservatives) but each camp is sinking deeper and deeper into their own orthodoxy and drifting apart. Trump supporters and conservatives go on Facebook and see memes about the 2nd amendment and Hillary in a jumpsuit. Liberals go on Facebook and see posts from occupy democrats. The only exchange is insults. It cannot end well.

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

like so many others here, as a Poli Sci-History grad of the 70s I find it hard to comprehend the fragility of many students today. Humanity and world history can both be very harsh at times - but "protecting" individuals from these adult realities doesn't prepare them for the real world.

[@ashdav9980]

I am gen X with two graduate degrees currently raising two gen Z. I have a totally different view on college than I did in my youth and will be encouraging my kids to stay the hell away from humanities and if they must go to college, use it for a skilled degree only and get the heck out. They are being taught to question everything, crazy how ridiculous our society has become. Could you imagine how folks would act if real hardship hit the country? We see how people acted over not having enough toilet paper. 🤦‍♀️

[@kathrynck]

I called it back in the 90's. I was, in my early 20's, buying long fireplace matches along with some other camping gear, firewood, and food prior to a camping trip. And they asked for my ID. I started to get it from my purse when it dawned on me that I didn't buy any alcohol... so i stopped and asked why they needed ID. It was for the matches. Now, people would say 'oh that makes sense'. But understand that I bought matches at like 7 years old to go with fireworks, which i was also buying, alone, to go shoot off, without supervision, understanding as a rational human being, that if i did something especially dumb with them i'd get in trouble. They didn't used to hold your hand 24/7 and try to aggressively keep you safe from yourself. I told the cashier "you gotta be ****ing kidding me" and they decided they didn't need my ID after all. I can't even imagine what the cashier would have thought about the revolver out in the backpack in my trunk (a reasonable precaution in the deep woods). But now there are kids who don't remember the time before the "safety nazis" as we called them in the 90s.

[@JAJA0913]

Based on my experience growing up in China, when certain topics become untouchable in human discourse, millions can die. In fact, the number was about 40 m. 1958 - 1962 and then another 20 million 1966 - 1976, both in China.

[@FormulaWill]

Great Content ReasonTV. Keep producing this type of material.

[@Cristov123]

I could listen to Haidt talk for hoooours haha. I love the way he presents a point, it's so basic yet so thorough and logical. I'd love to see him in more debate-like discussions like the one he participated in with that young feminist student.

[@dostthouevenlogicbrethren1739]

Get the audiobooks of his books on Audible. They're read by him. It's fantastic. lol

[@PetersFXfilms]

Send me the link to his debate with the feminist.

[@Cristov123]

@@PetersFXfilms it's been three years since I posted this, I have no idea what video it was.

[@JaffaGaffa]

Reporting from the Outside Of The US: nice to watch calm and intelligent ppl discuss complex issues. This kind of tone is not reported in mainstream media in Europe. It´s all about Fox vs CNN, Trump yada...yada (and guess that it was the mainstream America is watching/reacting too)

[@furyofbongos]

Day care kids... Day care destroys kids. They lack a secure bond with a primary care giver. This causes all kinds of psychological and emotional issues.

[@laus7504]

What? It's over? This was very interesting. Feels like there's easily a part 2 and 3? Nick Gillespie always seemed to rush through the interviews. But all the videos I remembered him in were short, so I guess that time constraints were a challenge. I think this was a great interview! I've found I am really enjoying the channels putting out these long interviews. No commercial breaks. If the host disagrees, he/she just makes it into a question. Then allow as long as needed for the guest to explain the zillions of things that lead to that decision. And they don't . I would really like to see more relaxed interviews that are longer like this. And Nick Gillespie is really great in this uniquely alt media realm. I'll have to see what else is on the channel. If you have a ton of these videos I'll go watch those for awhile! LOL

[@BizRasam]

Thank you for this talk.

[@NotShowingOff]

The problem is what happens when these kids leave college and work at companies where certain expression is discouraged. Colleges aren't facilitating free expression but they are preparing young adults For unfortunately a conformist world.

[@Torgo1969]

12:57 Haidt wrongly characterizes "bullying and name-calling" as aspects of masculinity as opposed to femininity. Those things are found in many human beings regardless of their biological sex.

[@drx1xym154]

yes, females do bully, but they do it in a completely different way - usually .. good point though. They are still doing it too... threatening or actually ostracizing people with the "wrong" opinion or what not. The social pressure that one woman (or girl) can put on another is amazing ... yes, they (Haidt & Co) got a a few point wrong. At least they are starting to realize the problem.

[@carlsnyder4833]

i read Jonathan Haidt's previous book The Righteous Mind and I can assure you he has a very well developed sense of bullying and how is typically presents itself in boys and girls. In this context he was referring to the direct confrontation form of bullying that is more common among boys as opposed to the more feminine version which involves social isolation.

[@onetwo19]

Yes...man can girls bully!

[@deanfirnatine7814]

" norms" allowed this to happen, trump upsetting norms is great

[@aslkjdflkadsjkgjhri]

All norms are bad?

[@CarterColeisInfamous]

I always felt like an individual

[@johnstuartmillsociety6772]

If anyone is interested in a more detailed explanation of the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, which Haidt is mostly in favor of, I am creating a series of short clips on my channel that breaks his ideas down into a palatable format.

[@maddogwillie1019]

In my mind some people tend to raise children not adults…They want to protect their children… what they should be doing is teaching them to protect themselves….as my kids were growing up I would tease them at times..and allow them to tease me back…the was never “I m the adult and you need to do as I say” moment…I treated my kids as equals…I told them that is was my job to provide them with opportunities…it’s was their job to take advantage of it or not…but most to learn from their decisions….it’s easier to raise an adult then a child…children need constant attention …remember…if you raise a child and not an adult you will have a 34 year old living in your basement.

[@damon2550]

Just found REASON, love it!!!

[@jssandler]

In 1994, I visited UC Santa Cruz, where my girlfriend was at the time. As a naive 18 year old, I attended some kind of informal group event with her where 10 people sat in a circle and described in what way they had been "oppressed". As a native of northern California, I did not feel oppressed, so I said so when it was my turn. It went around the circle and several people later a black female lesbian chastised me "how dare I attend their meeting as a non-oppressed person". I was rather taken aback that a putatively oppressed person would actively isolate and oppress (me) in this case. I believe someone else spoke up in my defense, but I remain bewildered by that odd experience even to this day. "Oppressionhood" was a contest at universities even in the mid 90's. Perhaps that's when it started?

[@RoughDraft257]

Amazing stuff

[@spikedmaceentertainment4722]

It's not only at those schools. As lower level schools (The one i'm going to) try to emulate the higher level schools in an attempt to increase their stature and ethos; they begin to adopt the same virulent trends. We have a safe space, a diversity office, diversity staff, and recently had an event during class hours that consisted of coloring and a petting zoo. Upon discussing this with a last year history professor he professed his personal disgust with it. Obviously it isn't a majority trend but the existence and funding of these aspects of the college are deeply unsettling and pathetic.

[@Porelorexeus]

22:15 I feel you.

[@tomthx5804]

It's nice when former beatles interview people

[@kutansam4172]

I saw the interviewer and immediately said to myself "alright, please tell me someone else acknowledged that intense hairdo."

[@tips4truckers252]

I was searching the comments for something like this. Leather jacket gets me too.

[@thatwasinteresting.8150]

Spoken like true modern idiots more concerned with fashion, appearance and hairstyles than the content of the discussion.

[@kutansam4172]

@@thatwasinteresting.8150 groan.

[@Ellen24493]

Parents and the school system raise children with trendy self-esteem theories and no consequences. We’re reaping the results now that they’re adults. I call it the 'cult of the child' philosophy.

[@herculesrockefeller8969]

College is not supposed to be a vocational school. It is supposed to create citizens who can think and appreciate the thoughts of others. In this way it prepares people for living in a democracy, regardless of their occupation or social status. Without colleges we are going to be in trouble. Without Jon Haidt, this country is also in trouble.

[@DrBoofenstein]

Thank god for nick gillespie and reason TV keep up the good work !

[@tensaijuusan4653]

I recently watched an episode of Key and Peel (two black comedians) who made a satirical skit on "wife swap" and one of them did "white face" with blond wig of hair - it was mildly amusing and I was in no way offended as a white person. But it did make me pause to consider if it had been two white comedians........and how they would have been torn to pieces in the PC "woke" social environment we live in. There was a dystopian movie called "Crash" made in 2004 that depicted the dangerous tribal identity conflicts that happen so often in any "multi-cultural" society but are especially exacerbated in America where lethal weapons are so readily available, and although this movie tended to just focus on the one issue of race, we are now facing these increasingly violent "crashes" across a whole series of intersecting social parameters including - gender, religion, political allegiance, generational, sexual orientation, police vs. citizen, wealth gap, etc. and the forces of social cohesion have been stretched thinner and thinner almost to the point of snapping.

[@Mark-hc8ek]

Where lethal weapons are available? You mean like mustard gas in Germany?

[@nathanielday9376]

There's a difference between when someone from a powerful group imitates someone from a less powerful group, and when someone from a less powerful group imitates someone from a powerful group. They are not the same. (For starters, the former is in very poor taste)

[@justiceforjoggers2897]

The vegchopper commercial has my third favorite TV salesmen. God bless the video not for it's critical message, but for the most entertaining slap chopping I'll ever bear witness

[@elektrochava]

Interestingly that he is noting that this phenomenon is exaggerated in the way American campuses are isolated from the surrounding social/culture life whereas in Europe you see universites much more integrated in the city with students living in apartments etc.

[@temujin1234]

His moral foundations theory is also interesting.

[@ryanlessl5960]

22:06 "Someone who I don't like agrees with something I think, so now I can't think that anymore".

[@youcancallmeZimmy]

My affection for JH diminished just a little bit when I heard that

[@Daviticus042]

Ryan Lessl@@youcancallmeZimmy I think what he meant was that it makes it harder for him to talk about those ideas, because many people now equate them with Trump.

[@youcancallmeZimmy]

@@Daviticus042 well..if that's the case I can appreciate that

[@maxhess3151]

Whenever I think about my role in the world, I picture myself standing where Bret Weinstein or Nicholas Christakis stood. There's hardly a more stressful situation to be in, and they set the example for how to handle it.

[@Landwy1]

Interesting about PC culture at 4 year residency schools and not graduate or non-resident schools. Coming from a STEM background there isn't very much PC culture. With a lot of psychology and social sciences students majors in college, this PC culture has only grown. With many tenure track positions in schools being eliminated, the professors are very timid and allow students to run the show. As a general rule, the Ivy League schools have generally become legacy admittance institutions and for kids of rich parents willing to buy their way in. You go to Ivy League schools for "connections" and not about getting a good education.

[@kittykatzcenteno7160]

YOU TWO, TOO, MY PLEASURE.

[@robin-hr9up]

George Orwell: ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ Appendix **THE PRINCIPLES OF NEWSPEAK** Extract Newspeak was the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc, or English Socialism. In the year 1984 there was not as yet anyone who used Newspeak as his sole means of communication, either in speech or writing. The leading articles in the Times were written in it, but this was a tour de force which could only be carried out by a specialist. It was expected that Newspeak would have finally superseded Oldspeak (or Standard English, as we should call it) by about the year 2050. Meanwhile it gained ground steadily, all Party members tending to use Newspeak words and grammatical constructions more and more in their everyday speech. The version in use in 1984, and embodied in the Ninth and Tenth Editions of the Newspeak Dictionary, was a provisional one, and contained many superfluous words and archaic formations which were due to be suppressed later. It is with the final, perfected version, as embodied in the Eleventh Edition of the Dictionary, that we are concerned here. The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought - that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc - should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words. Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and by stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meanings whatever. To give a single example. The word free still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as ‘This dog is free from lice’ or ‘This field is free from weeds’. It could not be used in its old sense of ‘politically free’ or ‘intellectually free’ since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless. Quite apart from the suppression of definitely heretical words, reduction of vocabulary was regarded as an end in itself, and no word that could be dispensed with was allowed to survive. Newspeak was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought, and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum.

[@steeltrap3800]

The real irony to me is all the mewling kiddies 'protesting' speech they don't like remind me of the sheep in Animal Farm. It surprises me in all the videos I've seen discussing these topics nobody's ever made the obvious comparison. Then again I suppose a lot of these idiots they discuss would want to ban Orwell entirely, assuming they've even heard of him. They probably haven't, and how sad is that?

[@mlem87]

Whatever happened to the saying "sticks and stones can hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me?"

[@philosopher2king]

The key distinction that Lukianoff (co-author of the Cuddling of the American Mind) realized was how this woke movement encourages kids to think EXACTLY in the ways that cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches you to avoid.

[@kajmace]

Don't read the comments on this one. Just don't do it.

[@Shotblur]

this is a comment on this one

[@TheThreatenedSwan]

It's always a surprise that people like this, who are very intelligent and open to intellectual diversity, are still leftists

[@gantmj]

That's because you're stuck in tribal mode where you think everything left is bad.

[@xxcrysad3000xx]

Haidt is not a leftist, he's a centrist. At least that's how he describes himself. What I take him to mean by this is that he's basically in favor of the status quo, and making marginal changes to policy in the direction of greater liberty (right) or greater equality (left) on a case by case basis, based on the best evidence we have to go by.

[@gbiota1]

Habitually judging peoples opinions as based in tribalism is probably not going to be as useful today as it was, say, 2000 years ago. Its just the sort of thing people encounter and come to terms with pretty early in their political life these days, and isn't even particularly difficult to get over. The trouble I have, and leftism claims fine goals, is that unilaterally the marketing is not the product. I have a hard time finding much on the left that I believe was ever really what I was sold on it being. Most of what people argue as being good is probably centrism that hard leftists abandon when convenient, like "peace" or "respect for rights".

[@gantmj]

We have the same brains as we did 2,000 years ago, and most don't even know what tribalism is, let alone ever accept that's how they're acting.

[@gbiota1]

Brains are important, but the importance of conversations and information are proportional to a persons access to them, which has never been greater. American culture is masochistically self conscious and self critical. I've seen people make the "tribalism" point at least 1000 times in the past 10 years, and I'm not even politically active. To take just one anecdote of how demoralized and ashamed the US public is of itself from pathological self criticality, it regularly accepts that the United States practiced and is responsible for centuries of slavery. When in fact the international slave trade was ended within a few decades of the countries inception, and the practice within the country (1776-1865) was brought to an end in a grand total of 89 years -- with only 2.7% of the country ever having participated in the practice, and nearly 2% of the country dying to bring it to an end. I seem to find myself in no difficulty of finding people who are so terrified of being unfairly biased against others that they are grossly biased against themselves.

[@wendydarling5685]

I'm a mom who is very afraid of her child being taken. I can see his point big time. I do ask the children to work their issues out though. I also do know this is not an entirely mother issue. It can be a lack of men acting as fathers. I'll take care of any kid but I know my husband will most like look past another child besides his own unless asked.

[@clinke2007]

Whoa, why ain't Robby Soave doing this interview!

[@gorfulator]

get it right

[@kateomalley8645]

He did say "if you are legal, I love you" over and over and over again. (Trump about legal immigrants) HOW DID YOU NOT HEAR THIS?

[@resiststatism2671]

Lowering academic standards and inviting less intelligent students into what have become diploma mills has lead to the phenomena of professors and teachers being told by students, "You can't say that!" This is similar to open-borders ideology. An influx of statists and theocrats from less liberated nations and inferior cultures into Western nations leads to exacerbated cultural breakdown for Western values like limited government, free speech and individualism. Raise academic and cultural standards or quit complaining.

[@Macheako]

Dude, I've been trying to say this for a minute now lol. I think you're hitting too close to home for a LOT of people though :( It's become personal. Their own self-esteem now lies on top of a degree being "valid", when you and I both know, half a these degrees are NOT worthy of Academic Endeavors within the walls of a University. If an idea is not challenging, intellectually AND emotionally, it has no place on a college campus. If you aren't struggling, you aren't learning anything. It's these Truths that people don't want to contend with. They, as the saying goes, want their cake and to eat it too :/

[@jarfuloflove7320]

Carlos A what race are most libertarians, I wonder?

[@matthewslack7325]

It's 'phenomenon' in that context. But I have an open-borders policy to the use of language so...

[@brianrinz5586]

Reason is social justice light.

[@georger6624]

Parents have to begin suing

[@abramgaller2037]

The country needs to reorganize education and the government can't do it.

[@Kevin-hf1ts]

What Freud meant by everything goes back to mother was metaphorical. Therefore, the peer group was symbolic for "mother."

[@matthewkopp2391]

Kevin Ketchum More than a metaphor, the peer group is the surrogate mother. You can say the same of any cult like behavior, for example extreme nationalism the nation becomes the motherland. It is more than symbolic, it is a redirected transference. And with a school, Alma mater is Latin for 'nourishing mother'. So at one time a university was considered to be “the nourishing mother”. Or the cathedrals was “our mother” also the redirected transference. Transference will happen and in a particularly strong way with young adult people. The real blame is on the faculty and school administration.

[@Arthagnou]

I totally don't think he is correct on the exclusivity of these actions in residential 4 year universities...having gone to a "non elite" school, its everywhere. There are Diversity Training programs on every campus. I got a degree on a non elite university all this nonsense is there.

[@coweatsman]

Hearing a trigger word. It's the story of Sleeping Beauty. A witch (feminist) makes a curse that if a precious snowflake princess pricks her finger (she hears a trigger word) the kingdom will sleep for a 100 years. It only works because enough people believe the witch and invest her with a power over other them. Similarly a "trigger word" only has the power to "trigger" if enough precious princesses give it that power. The sleeping for a 100 years is the equivalent of shutting down free thought and poisoning the academy, happening as we speak. Feminists are channelling their inner Eris goddess, the goddess of discord, the ever smarting resentful grudge bearing "victim" causing mischief. You'll remember that it was her who set off the chain of events which culminated in the Trojan War. She set god against god, goddess against goddess but through their foibles she had the ability to make mischief. Similarly the unpopularity today of Socrates dictum of "living a well examined life", a variation of "know thyself" allows students, faculty, law makers, intellectual and the media to have their weaknesses played like a grand piano and to be manipulated by shaming, guilt tripping, attention seeking, vanity and baser instincts. If we can once again "know ourselves" better we will not be so prone to being manipulated and slower on being dishonest to ourselves. Of course this means marketing and advertising will also be affected. The same reality that makes society such a marketable target for commercial carpet baggers also makes us vulnerable to toxic ideologies. "Knowing thyself" is the best antidote to being played for others by our own anxieties.

[@davidcottrell1308]

Makes me weep.......

[@roodborstkalf9664]

The bizar things happening at American Universities in the last few years remind me a quiet a lot of what happened at the Dutch Universities in the early seventies with Marxism.

[@nuriagiralt617]

Considering the very-high percentage of faculty in many universities that is part-time and that Dr. Haidt's research seems not to include them, I'm suspicious of whatever results he obtains.

[@jonathansanders7756]

When tell people “You can’t say that.”, it is you who has become the bully.

[@60sfanatic]

It used to be understood that although kids would inevitably push the limits and complain about any restrictions imposed upon them, they actually wanted/needed guidelines and rules to feel secure and grow up. Perhaps it should therefore come as no surprise that the emerging generation should be so insecure, unable to think for themselves and in need of “big brother” to take care of them.

[@yongy2000]

The real dangerous coddling happens on social media, talk show platforms, and of course inside those lovely churches.

[@marsweasel727]

Even if people find themselves having to grow the hell up at the later stages of life, How exactly they can go about it? The wages haven't kept up with inflation. When things have become too expensive, it takes a while to work many hours just to pay for it.

[@jupiterisaak1004]

That’s part of the problem. All the markers of adulthood have been taken away by the 2008 recession. Millennials can’t afford homes or families. They are just making ends meet despite being highly educated.

[@charlespeterson3798]

The thing I don't get is the divides of race, gender, and other factors have been improving while the political divide, is, in the mind of Mr. Haidt, the most problematic. Why?

[@williamreymond2669]

Diversity is the new individuality.

[@laportama]

Diversity forgives. Codependence demands revenge and control.

[@laportama]

Eye opening, but remember he's an academic and misses entire dimensions.

[@chrislee176]

‘no university should be politically homogeneous’ (4:08) Ergo, all universities should have someone advocating State violence against peaceable individuals. Non-aggressive politics (ie, anarchist/stateless-society) are permitted, just so long as institutionalized legal aggressive violence is also given a place. ...does something sound wrong in this??

[@erandeser5830]

I can assure you that the pc crowd already existed in the European student movements of the 1960s

[@erandeser5830]

I demand a gender based study into all of this.

[@abhishekdev353]

America and Indian nationalism are inclusive by nature. We should never confuse it with Germany or Japan's nationalism.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

he is wrong one point this ideaolgy rules from Harvard to your local community college, it's not just at a select few schools.

[@JeaneAdix]

I hate that as they speak i feel a sense of apprehension towards their ideas, not because I think their words are incongruent or or their ideas are wrong but that because they hold warnings against such things as "diversity and inclusion" i've been conditioned to be immediately skeptical of them and their motives. They make really good points but my emotions are against them and I know it's from the same system they are cautioning against. This internal struggle sucks and I'm really beginning to hate ther system that made me think with emotions and not reason.

[@RoughDraft257]

And finally, the SUNY system takes the lead over the UC system. :)

[@mesastilettodeuce]

I've liked other things I've read or heard from Jonathan Haidt, but I'd expect more than simplistic arguments from him. This is just anecdotal but I grew up in the 90s and '00s with helicopter parents and can say that the idea that we were protected from insults, bullying, exclusion, etc. is just hyper bullshit. Maybe I was at the generational turning point (graduated college 2014) but that just doesn't fit my experience at all. This reminds me of when people talk about participation trophies. I've received those. I can't remember talking to anyone about them but I certainly wasn't proud of receiving one. You still left the competition knowing you did shitty and needed to practice more.

[@Christopher_Bachm]

The days of coddling bigotry and conceit are over. Wake up America!

[@Thomas-fu8vp]

I know I shouldn't be saying this but, America is thoroughly screwed up.We need to promote a POLITICALLY INCORRECT MONTH. OR A HOLY YEAR, OF 1980'S STYLE ALL OUT NAME CALLING.

[@PsychoBible]

Well, his prediction is coming true.

[@aslkjdflkadsjkgjhri]

"Yes, I helped create this climate. Yes, I continue to perpetuate it in many ways. No, I won't take responsibility for that."

[@MulletMan3108]

who, Jonathan Haidt?

[@J03YDR4M45]

FUCK YEA

[@RaceTeq17]

ReasonSideburns

[@georger6624]

It’s very bad parenting that’s what happened the parents that’s the problem social media to

[@sobersherpa]

How does this bod with physiologist and psychiatrist?

[@NotShowingOff]

How do you balance diversity and inclusion with individual liberty. We don't live in a vacuum and perversions of history pervade our history.

[@Lori-xt2lf]

I find it so hard to wrap my head around what the college students are saying. It’s so odd. Also, I hope it dies out quickly. And Jon, give in to Trump!

[@georger6624]

If conservatives were 50% and liberal to 50% in the colleges maybe just maybe the colleges will survive not this way parents should be suing the colleges and universities by the millions of dollars

[@jeremypark9479]

Wow watching this for the first time and some of Justin comments are very prophetic. Just took a pandemic to bring the house of cards down.....

[@oudguitar]

Jonathan haidt for cabinet

[@Mark-hc8ek]

My niece is so over protective of her children she gives actual clearance who's allowed in her home to see the kids on very tight scheduling. And this is coming from ardent Democrat supporters. I don't watch a lot if TV news but my guess is from what I do catch they are spreading massive irrational fear.

[@stanleycates1972]

Well well well, shades of Jordan Peterson and Stephen Hicks. Was post modernism even mentioned?

[@Randgalf]

Man, their comments about Trump have not aged well.

[@jkemeter]

i love jon haidt but i think its funny when the president says the same thing he is , its unfortunate but when Jonathan says it , its good?

[@mikeg9b]

21:12 globalist vs. nationalist. Globalism is better. If you want to know why, take an introductory macroeconomics class and pay attention to the subject of comparative advantage and international trade. That is all.

[@dfpolitowski2]

Things like a PC invasion are what happens when society abandons the God of the Bible. The lens of scripture to which to judge the world, understand the world, engage the world and its people. Faulty thinking ensues. But God offers us hope and is patient with us. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus today, making him your God and guide. See your baptist church today, sit under a sermon and see what God has for you.

[@erandeser5830]

Feminized away from the masculine traits ..... and that is good ?'? Not so, that is the road to safe spaces that you are opposing ! If gou want kids to be able to take one on the chin, that is totally incoherent.

[@audreydunham4600]

My point to get rid of all crimes educate children from 4 years of age the CHARACTER OF GOD. in homes and schools.

[@jennifermorgan6913]

well, we all know that god never approved of his people smiting anyone just because of their ethnicity or the land they lived on.🙄

[@marymolloy562]

@@jennifermorgan6913 lol!

[@nathanielday9376]

Observation: for a presentation on viewpoint diversity, there's not a lot of viewpoint diversity here in the comments.

[@Darrylizer1]

Yay we all participated! Everyone gets a trophy!

[@jeremiahtompkins6952]

Lol... If they only knew how bad it's gotten

[@JDStevens92]

This video is pretty poignant given this past weekend

[@pchiare]

I absolutely LOVE the hordes of commenters who all seem to know SO MUCH about women and how they are to blame for ALL of society's failures... lol do you guys even hear yourselves? Do you actually KNOW any women in real life or is your experience of females limited to memories of your mother and youtube and porn? Come on guys, try harder.

[@222ableVelo]

The question is: Why are we listening to left-leaning sociologists from universities -- including Jon Haidt? They're the ones that keep getting it wrong......and yet we turn to them for answers when they're the ones that helped create the mess.... I know Jon Haidt is a little more centrist technically (and he has a few good points), but I consider him to still be somewhat left. It's the blind leading the blind here. The real solutions to these problems will probably never again be allowed on campuses, so why even bother trying to communicate it to people. They won't listen anyways. Have fun with your baby anarchists in college -- you guys raised them. You reap what you sow.

[@Greg_9K]

I agree with most of what Jonathan is getting at in this interview, and I appreciate him shining a light on the trigger warnings and safe spaces culture at our universities that is breeding a generation of narcissistic, overly sensitive, self entitled jerks. But I do take issue with what he said about Donald Trump making things worse. Of course you will always have on both sides some hate and vitriol but things are 100 times worse on the left then on the right. And to frame things as if we have this big cultural problem where there’s an equalAmount of hateful thoughts and actions on both sides is just a dishonest position to hold. It is the constant and unceasing push from liberal philosophy that is progressively making things worse. Donald Trump is actually a centrist who is focused on American pride and restoring a love for one’s country. He’s actually much more focused on compassion then any liberal (even liberals that are in the center like Jonathan) can admit. If they were to admit that Trump is actually a really cool chill positive force they would have to admit the truly ugly nature that drives their entire philosophy. Oh well, at least Jonathan is making a small dent with his organization and his books. So I applaud him for trying, even though he is still having a hard time giving up his liberal identity. He is a good dude for the most part. He would just be more effective if he went all the way with his arguments and just excepted that all Liberal positions are toxic and that all the common sense and truly compassionate positions are now on the conservative side.