Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt is Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU Stern School of Business. Previously, he was a psychologist at the University of Virginia. He is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis.
Books by Jonathan Haidt
The Coddling of the American Mind
by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt
New paperback release: 20th August 2019 (US); 6th June 2019 (UK)
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure was named the best book of 2018 by Bloomberg, as well as spending four weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Written by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and president of FIRE Greg Lukianoff, it has been a fiercely controversial book, addressing the rise of what the authors call "safetyism" on college campuses. As such, it examines the rise of "safe spaces", "no-platforming", and "trigger warnings" alongside inflammatory free speech debates.
In The Coddling of the American Mind, the authors propose the provocative thesis that many of the steps currently taken to safeguard psychological health on college campuses may, in fact, be doing more harm in the long run. With rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide rising, the authors say this is a call for alarm.
Jonathan Haidt spoke to Five Books about the best books on happiness.
The Happiness Hypothesis
by Jonathan Haidt
Haidt uses the metaphor of a boy riding an elephant. The boy is the conscious reasoning part of the brain and it can see very far, and make certain steering decisions, but most of the work is done by the elephant, which is the unconscious part of the brain. Haidt’s work is to try to explain what the elephant is doing.
Interviews with Jonathan Haidt
The best books on Happiness, recommended by Jonathan Haidt
Most of us want to be happy, and yet it’s hard to achieve. Jonathan Haidt, psychologist and author of the classic The Happiness Hypothesis, talks us through five books, old and new, to better understand happiness.
Interviews where books by Jonathan Haidt were recommended
The best books on Philosophy and Everyday Living, recommended by Emrys Westacott
Philosophy is sometimes assumed to be a dry, academic subject but it also has much to say about how we live, love and relate to each other. Emrys Westacott chooses the best books on philosophy and everyday living.
The best books on Neuroscience, recommended by David Brooks
It’s hard to understand many things about the world around us without a knowledge of the unconscious workings of the brain, argues the New York Times columnist David Brooks. He chooses five accessible books that’ll get you into neuroscience as well.
