Each section describes a principle of moral psychology.
A fun overview of the middle section is his TED talk.
It's only 19 minutes.
I highly recommend it.
I saw the video before I read any part of the book. The video gave me context that helped me a lot when I read the book.
Bear with him in the first few minutes of the video. Some of it rankles conservatives. Stay with it. He's setting the hook in the people who most need to hear his message (not conservatives).
Even though non-conservatives MOST need to hear his message, from the video and the book, conservatives gain a lot from it too. For me, Haidt provides a Rosetta Stone for understanding where people who disagree with me are coming from, and for understanding where my own values come from as well.
I'd be very curious to hear your reactions to any and all of it. Either as you go through it, or after you're done. As you wish.
The coddling article is a whole different thing. There's nothing in it that ties directly back to the book. It stands on its own, without the book.
But at the same time, the knowledge in the book underlies the Coddling article. For that matter, to some degree even the video does that too. So, I'd say, start with the video.
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It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” – Mark Twain
My older son's take on this school (he graduated six years ago, so it could have changed), is that it basically reflects the environment that is Seattle. That it's not in particular a private school issue, but that you would get the same reaction speaking about particular issues, anywhere in Seattle. This is a very liberal area. He didn't feel shut down as a male, but students at that school are extremely outspoken. He didn't think that discussions that got heated in the classroom were held against you, out of the classroom. And he agreed that the teachers were uniformly liberal, for the most part. He had a Romney sticker on his computer, and people definitely commented on it, but he doesn't remember anyone being rude. However, his class was known for being particularly nice. Actually, I think it is a priority to this school to accept kind and generous students....it's sad to read about those students trying to shut people up. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, unfortunately.
I really enjoyed reading that link, thanks for posting it. Those sound like the type of students my kids went to school with. Some great debates, and differing viewpoints for sure. I am so annoyed I was unable to make his lecture.
Yeah, I read that too, Winchester. We are 99.99% positive that was our kid's high school, though I'd have to talk to someone who attended the lecture to make sure. My younger son said it wasn't that extreme when he attended, and that he thought that the article was exaggerated. Haven't gotten my older son's opinion yet, but he's pretty conservative, so I'm sure he'd have an interesting take on it.
The thing is, this school is pretty set on trying to present different viewpoints. They've had some pretty well known conservative speakers, like William Kristol, come to the school. They make students argue from different sides of an issue, even from the extreme of arguing from the viewpoint of slave owners. I'm sure this article will be shocking (but hopefully enlightening) to the administration, and they'll get some pressure from the parents of boys and the less liberal few.
The handout just talks about his background, and says he is speaking about ethics and politics. The school is Lakeside School, in Seattle. A very liberal school, overall, but they do attempt to give differing viewpoints a voice.
I was going to leave my comment at "it's a first-world luxury to never have to grow up", but the point isn't really that we're saving our sensitive offspring from being the little bundles of neuroses were told they're are. What are we doing to our students if we encourage them to develop extra-thin skin just before they leave the cocoon of adult protection?
We're not doing it - well, I'm not, anyway. It's those that headed off to university and stayed that are guilty. Never had to grow up themselves and they feel so much better for having produced a crop of affirmation.
