In this thought-provoking discussion, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and author, dives into the chilling effects of trigger warnings and safe spaces on mental resilience. Former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks offers insights on the essential role of debate in education. Activist Eleanor Penny advocates for thoughtful speech that considers emotional impacts, while sociologist Kehinde Andrews critiques the power dynamics that influence free expression in universities. Together, they navigate the balance between inclusivity and the freedom to engage with challenging ideas.
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insights INSIGHT
Mental Health Crisis
Jonathan Haidt discusses rising anxiety and depression in young people, especially girls.
He links this to social media and overprotection, hindering resilience development.
insights INSIGHT
Anti-Fragility
Haidt introduces the concept of "anti-fragility," explaining how challenges, like stress and insults, can build resilience.
Overprotection deprives children of these experiences, hindering their development.
insights INSIGHT
Political vs. Personal
Eleanor Penny argues that current political problems are misdiagnosed as personal fragility.
She claims that true threats to free speech include mass surveillance and the far right.
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The book explores how the ideas 'what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker,' 'always trust your feelings,' and 'life is a battle between good people and evil people' have become embedded in American culture. These 'Great Untruths' contradict basic psychological principles and ancient wisdom, leading to a culture of safetyism that interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. The authors investigate various social trends, including fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the impact of social media, as well as changes on college campuses and the broader context of political polarization in America.
Denial
My 25 Years Without a Soul
Jonathan Rauch
For this week's episode of The Sunday Debate, we revisit our event from 2018.
Many would argue that these are the fundamental goals of a good education. So why has Cambridge University taken to warning its students that the sexual violence in Titus Andronicus might be traumatic for them? Why are other universities in America and increasingly in Britain introducing measures to protect students from speech and texts they might find harmful? Safe spaces, trigger warnings and no-platforming are now campus buzzwords – and they’re all designed to limit free speech and the exchange of ideas. As celebrated social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues in his book The Coddling of the American Mind, university students are increasingly retreating from ideas they fear may damage their mental health, and presenting themselves as fragile and in need of protection from any viewpoint that might make them feel unsafe.The culture of safety, as Haidt calls it, may be well intentioned, but it is hampering the development of young people and leaving them unprepared for adult life, with devastating consequences for them, for the companies that will soon hire them, and for society at large.
That, Haidt’s critics argue, is an infuriating misinterpretation of initiatives designed to help students. Far from wanting to shut down free speech and debate, what really concerns the advocates of these new measures is the equal right to speech in a public forum where the voices of the historically marginalised are given the same weight as those of more privileged groups. Warnings to students that what they’re about to read or hear might be disturbing are not an attempt to censor classic literature, but a call for consideration and sensitivity. Safe spaces aren’t cotton-wool wrapped echo chambers, but places where minority groups and people who have suffered trauma can share their experiences without fear of hostility.
Joining Haidt on stage were the former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who believes that educating young people through debate and argument helps foster robustness, author and activist Eleanor Penny, and sociologist Kehinde Andrews, one of the UK’s leading thinkers on race and the history of racism. The event was chaired by Emily Maitlis.
Intelligence Squared 
