Professor Jonathan Haidt speaks at UCCS

Professor Jonathan Haidt explains some causes of a new moral culture of “safetyism,” and how these elements have contributed to the attitudes of current college students. This talk shares insights from his recent book "The Coddling of the American Mind," co-authored with Greg Lukianoff, and tries to explain recent changes on college campuses that include new types of student protests, restrictions on free speech, the rise of cancel culture. Prof. Haidt argues that the mental health of young people is at stake, because some of these trends show that students are engaging in cognitive distortions that can lead to anxiety and depression. He explains some of the potential causes of these changes, some of which relate to parenting and childhood, and young people not being allowed to take risks and experience failure.

This event took place in October 2019 at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS), and was sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS).

Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos

The Institute for Humane Studies supports and partners with professors to promote the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas and to advance higher education’s core purpose of intellectual discovery and human progress.