18AR23-37

( - previous issue - / - next issue - )

AR 23:37 - CULTURE - the danger in making college students "safe"

In this issue:

CULTURE - why are college professors "teaching young people to see themselves as fragile and in need of protection"?

+ a faculty memoir on "the politicization and collapse of the American academy"

DISCOURSE - bypassing conflict to build understanding

MIRACLES - responding to the claim that 'belief in Christ's resurrection and the supernatural is unjustified'

Apologia Report 23:37 (1,403)
November 7, 2018

CULTURE
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff [1] -- Penguin Press: the authors "argue that child-centered social attitudes dating back to the 1980s have convinced young people that their feelings are always right, and this leads not just to failure (as the subtitle has it) but free-speech issues on campus and the rising polarization in politics." Haidt is a social psychologist at NYU Stern School of Business and the director <www.bit.ly/2Jp0xIc> of Heterodox Academy, Lukianoff is the president and CEO <www.bit.ly/2COjPW6> of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

Publishers Weekly (Jul 9 '18) notes that the book expands on the authors' 2015 piece for the Atlantic <www.bit.ly/2Q5dLMH> and critically responds: "At times, [their] limited perspectives become apparent - for instance, their dismissal of microaggressions as simple misunderstandings that should be corrected with good grace is naive and lacking in compassion, and their use of exaggerated hypothetical dialogues to illustrate the worldviews of those with whom they disagree can seem in bad faith. Yet the path they advocate - take on challenges, cultivate resilience, and try to reflect rather than responding based solely on initial emotional responses - deserves consideration."

Kirkus (Jul 1 '18) summarizes: "Overprotecting children hinders them from confronting physical, emotional, and intellectual challenges. Noting a rise of anxiety and depression among teenagers and threats to free speech on many college campuses, Lukianoff ... and social psychologist Haidt ... offer an incisive analysis of the causes of these problems and a measured prescription for change. The authors assert that many parents, teachers, professors, and university administrators have been teaching young people to see themselves as fragile and in need of protection.... Particularly regrettable is 'the creep of the word "unsafe" to encompass "uncomfortable,"' as students seek to institute trigger warnings on course curricula and to lobby for 'safe spaces' where they feel sheltered from ideas they deem emotionally or intellectually difficult to confront. ... The authors present detailed accounts of the 'meltdown into anarchy' on college campuses when 'political diversity is reduced to very low levels, when the school's leadership is weak and easily intimidated,' and when professors and administrators fail to uphold free speech and academic freedom. ... Social media outlets have inflamed these attacks. The authors offer practical suggestions for parents (allow children independence and nurture self-reliance) and teachers (cultivate intellectual virtues and teach debate skills) to guide children into adulthood. An important examination of dismaying social and cultural trends."

Also consider this candid memoir from a faculty member and witness to "the politicization and collapse of the American academy" behind the safe student movement: Springtime for Snowflakes: "Social Justice" and Its Postmodern Parentage, by Michael Rectenwald (Professor of Liberal Studies at New York University) [2] -- which the promo tells us "illuminates the obscurity of postmodern theory to track down the ideas and beliefs that spawned the contemporary 'social justice' creed and movement. In fast-paced creative non-fiction, Rectenwald <michaelrectenwald.com> begins by recounting how his Twitter capers and media exposure met with the swift and punitive response of NYU administrators and fellow faculty members. The author explains his evolving political perspective and his growing consternation with social justice developments while panning the treatment he received from academic colleagues and the political left."

---

DISCOURSE

"How to Have a Civil Discussion about Abortion" by Clinton Wilcox -- reviews "certain skills one can develop that will lead to civil discussions" - and not just discussions about the subject of abortion. Wilcox finds that "even people who start off angry can be calmed if you put these skills into practice."

He begins by asserting that success depends on mastering both intellectual virtues and conversational skills. The virtues are those of courage, honesty, and humility. The skills involved focus on persuasive listening, strategic questioning, and the conquest of common ground. Wilcox discusses these and recommends tools for further study. Oh that we would make this a Christian subject taught in institutions of higher education much like exposition and exegesis.

It's likely that Wilcox could save us some discouragement by reviewing examples from his experience demonstrating how impatience thwarts communication. Imagine this becoming a book which considers how to learn from such mistakes, that we might first acquire the virtues and skills which make the difference. Bring it on! Christian Research Journal, 41:4 - 2018, pp14-19.

---

MIRACLES

The Miracle Myth: Why Belief in the Resurrection and the Supernatural Is Unjustified, by Lawrence Shapiro [3] -- reviewed by Benjamin D.F. Shaw and Gary Habermas (both with Liberty University), whose abstract explains that they "interact critically with the [author] who contends that even if miracles occur, proper epistemological justification is unattainable. In addition, he argues that the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection is deeply problematic. We engage Shapiro's philosophical and historical arguments by raising several significant issues within his own arguments, while also briefly providing some positive reasons to think that if a miracle did occur, one may be epistemologically justified in believing it." Philosophia Christi, 20:1 - 2018, pp185-195.

To see how the subject of miracles has been featured in our past issues, visit <www.bit.ly/2Qdv4ey>

-------

SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff (Penguin, 2018, hardcover, 352 pages) <www.amzn.to/2JswyPG>

2 - Springtime for Snowflakes: "Social Justice" and Its Postmodern Parentage, by Michael Rectenwald (New English Review, 2018, paperback, 176 pages) <www.amzn.to/2CP8wgd>

3 - The Miracle Myth: Why Belief in the Resurrection and the Supernatural Is Unjustified, by Lawrence Shapiro (Columbia Univ Prs, 2016, hardcover, 192 pages) <www.amzn.to/2zaxJ1m>

------

( - previous issue - / - next issue - )