Summary Of Coddling Of The American Mind By Greg Lukianoff

The most recent controversy on American college campuses today, is whether colleges should adopt trigger warnings as a way to protect students from topics of discussion or ideas that may cause them some level of discomfort for instance, a lecture about rape may disturb a student who may have been raped in their earlier life causing the student great emotional disstress. Even though trigger warnings save student from reliving a delicate past; trigger warning should not be added to college classes because students at a college level should be mentally prepared to handle harsh academic course work that may trigger their own difficult past. Trigger warnings blind ones vision to learn the truth about topics that contain disturbing truths, taking

In the article “Trigger Warnings, Safe Spaces and Free Speech, too” published in the New York Times by Sophie Downes, Downes argues in response to a letter sent out by the dean of the University of Chicago. The letter states that safe spaces and trigger warnings were an issue deterring students from having free speech and therefore would not be supported on the Chicago campus anymore. Downes argues that the letter was just a poor attempt to advert attention away from the real issues on the campus—ones that the dean will not meet with student council about and will not talk about at all. Sophie Downes argues that safe spaces and trigger warnings actually encourage free space and enhance support and community—two values that the dean said were deterred by the existence of them.

Ethos has a great impact on the argument due to when and how the author's language is used to make is points as strong as possible, and the author Pinker has an issue with this. His use of language, his diction, come off very aggressive. Pinker chooses the words he uses carefully throughout the essay to intentionally try to offend the audience. He starts off his essay with a list of questions that he hopes to get your blood pressure rise. Then later states, "The ideas listed above, and the moral panic that

According to Alan G. Gross and Arthur E. Walzer, ethos is a type of ethical appeal establishing the speaker’s credibility or character and expertise as persuasive techniques (…). Throughout, Evicted Matthew Desmond employs ethos to gain and reinforce his knowledge and expertise on the subject, to prove his reliability as a

Diane Danielewicz Professor Joshua Tuttle English 15 17 March 2024 Reading Response Seven Chapter six of The Coddling of the American Mind navigates through the dynamics of what the authors Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff refer to as "the polarization cycle. " This illustrates a cycle of division and conflict, caused by factors like political polarization, heightened rates of anxiety and depression, the influence of helicopter parenting, lessening opportunities for free play during childhood, the bureaucratic expansion within academic institutions, and an intensified focus on social justice issues. These elements create an environment where emotional safety often takes precedence over intellectual challenge, resulting in the avoidance of uncomfortable

Ethos is a strategy used to assure the audience of the author’s integrity and character. To begin the speech, Wiesel says “Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, friends”, he is putting himself and the listeners who were not specifically specified onto the same level, to connect better with them (Wiesel, 1999/16, p. 76). He is showing the audience that he is human and respects everyone, but furthermore does not want anyone to

Using ethos entails establishing the basis of character: moral and ethical values, as well as how credible one might be. To start, he states he is an actor. An actor writing a piece such as this one would make readers skeptical as to why they should continue reading. He establishes his credibility by sharing with readers his experience with a friend named MZ. Sharing this experience allowed him to prove that he has seen firsthand why the prison system “needs a serious fix.” It was mental illness, and the lack of treatment thereof, that landed his friend in prison. Readers are more inclined to listen to a story when a personal experience is shared. Apart from this, the detailed way he explains information shows understanding of his knowledge of the current

One instance of Ethos used is the fact that the author never truly criticizes either side of the abortion debate, even though he seems to support the pro-life side. If he hadn’t structured his story as a discussion between two couples who truly do love each other and that the conversation never got out of hand, he would’ve turned off a lot of his potential audience as they would feel attacked. I could connect to this story because of its use of logic or logos through the story. First of all the story is written in the typical fashion with a definite beginning, climax, and conclusion which just makes sense to people when they read. It also fits in with the way I know the world to work. My sister’s best friend, who was like a big sister to me when we were growing up, was put in a similar situation as this girl. My sister’s friend had gotten pregnant at the end of her junior year in high school and her boyfriend was insisting that an abortion was the solution to their problems, much like this man in the story who said, “We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before” (Hemingway 48). All the while my sister’s friend was

The audience of this paper is other scholars, and that changes the use of ethos a lot. Nelson didn’t see the need to show why he was qualified, because his audience is just as qualified. The lack of ethos shows his audience he cares more about the topic than his qualifications and accomplishments. Caring more about the topic of the paper causes people to trust what he wrote and take it for what it is, however this could

After hearing about the opposing opinion, Stigmore “described spending 40 harrowing minutes of class in a distressed state, forced to look at the world through the eyes of a set of people she disagreed with” (“Parents Dedicate…” 39-40). The satirist exaggerates the distress Stigmore felt from seeing something she disagreed with, creating a reaction that blows the entire situation out of proportion. The hyperbole serves to underscore how modern Americans become unable to function in the face of an adversarial opinion and seek to block all forms of opposition. Through Stigmore’s reaction, the satirist rebukes that reaction and demands that people open their minds in the face of opposition. Moreover, the space Lynfield College will create in response to Stimore’s reaction “features soothing music, neutral-colored walls, oversized floor cushions, fun board games, and a variety of snacks” (“Parents Dedicate…” 16-18). The facility brings every single comforting tool to students who need help when others do not confirm their opinions. Obviously, a college campus would not have these types of things as they are mostly for children to feel safe. The satirist uses this hyperbole to compare current Americans to children with their refusal to listen to others. Thus, through overstatement, the satirist indicts the steadfast refusal to consider opposing

After reading the article I concur with the author’s views on colleges coddling students who are offended by words or small actions is doing more harm than good. The article covered the issues in detail and gave many examples of the conception before the 1980’s when children could roam free in the world with less worry for parents to where next generation who had more protective parents because of the increase of kidnappings, removal of physical activities in school, school shootings, and bullying after the 1980’s.The authors discuss how coddling is not good for students, society, the workplace, government or the future. Coddling removes cognitive thinking and the use of good critical thinking skills. Coddling will force students to think with emotion instead of logic. Society will not always bend over backwards to appease ones feelings or change to make someone feel comfortable. Thinking with emotions can create a fog that can hinder ones view of reality.

First, I would like to start by talking about Zadie Smith’s use of ethos in her essay “Generation Why.” The first example is in the first paragraph. Smith starts off by establishing credibility right away and presenting herself as trustworthy. She states, "'I was there' at Facebook's inception, and remember Facemash and the fuss it caused." This statement made Smith's readers trust her because she was

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, which gives the author credibility to persuade their attended audience. For instance, both Lukianoff and Haidt give a little insight about who they are, “Greg Lukianoff is a constitutional lawyer and the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which defends free speech and academic freedom on campus, and has advocated for students and faculty involved in many of the incidents this article describes; Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who studies the American culture wars.” (Lukianoff and Haidt). Using this rhetorical strategy to start their argument off was a strong approach to persuading their attended audience because it provides credibility to the readers to prove to them that the authors know what they’re talking about and it makes the argument much more effective. Another example of ethos that the authors provide is, “Today, what we call the Socratic method is a way of teaching that fosters critical thinking, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them… But vindictive protectiveness teaches students to think in a very different way… A campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes

To begin with, ethos is apparent in the excerpt “The Most Dangerous Job” by Eric Schlosser through his stories about workers and their families’ struggles. In the excerpt “The Most Dangerous Job,” Eric Schlosser states, “Each of their stories was different, yet somehow familiar, linked by common elements-the same struggle to receive proper medical care, the same fear of speaking out, the same underlying corporate indifference” (Schlosser 186). Schlosser shows the audience that he is a credible source through the stories of workers families. The families’ hardships showcase the corruption inside of

The issues discussed in class: safe space and trigger warnings, coddling of the American mind are relevant to the generational group of Millennials. The media tends to showcases us, the millennials, in a negative light and describes us as overly sensitive. Our generation wants a warning towards hate words or topics that deal with abuse. Conversely the people that are against trigger warnings can be described as insensitive.