Coddling Of The American Mind Analysis

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Analysis of “Coddling of the American Mind” In the editorial “Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt examine the political correctness on college campuses and how it may be hurting students’ mental health. They explain by allowing campuses to discuss words, ideas, and subjects that can cause discomfort or give offense can provide positive attributes like helping students to produce better arguments and more productive discussions over differences. Does Lukianoff and Haidt provide sufficient evidence about how college campuses should raise attention about the need to balance freedom of speech to help students in their future and education to lead the reader to agree with their argument? The answer is yes, …show more content…

The authors are using credentials and conclusions of someone to vouch for their argument. For example, Lukianoff and Haidt explain that public figures like “Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Maher have publicly condemned the oversensitivity of college students, saying too many of them can’t take a joke”. By public figures explaining the relevance of college campuses and how attention must be increased strengthens the argument, because it is bringing attention to the issues of freedom of speech. Lukianoff and Haidt also provide examples of events being canceled, because of protests. Based on a TV commercial an event was canceled because the “’program [was] dividing people and would make for an uncomfortable and possibly unsafe environment’”. This example shows how many events, words, subjects, will cause discomfort to people causing them to be canceled. However, the examples provided shows how many people are missing out on positive learning experiences. By showing examples, it strengthens the argument by allowing the reader to realize campuses are harming students and their experiences to

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