Lecture
Professor David Peimer
Saturday 1.08.2026
Professor David Peimer
The Coddling of the American Mind: What’s Happening in Education Today?
Saturday 1.08.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 1 August at 5:00pm (UK).
Summary
We examine co-authors Haidt and Lukianoff’s fascinating notion that Western education is a coddling of the mind. According to their book, in an overprotective culture, youth are stripped of the grit they need to face life’s challenges; additionally, education today argues that humans are fundamentally fragile, so our feelings become the baseline for knowledge—the world, an emotional binary of Us vs Them. As a result, free inquiry is stifled because emotions are incentivised over critical thinking.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a Professor of Literature, Film and Theatre in the UK. He has worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, New York University (Global Division) and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing. He has most recently directed Dame Janet Suzman in his own play, Joanna’s Story, at London Jewish Book Week. He has published numerous books, including Armed Response: Plays from South Africa and the digital book Theatre in the Camps. He is on the board of the Pinter Centre (London), and has been involved with the Mandela Foundation, Vaclav Havel Foundation and directed a range of plays at Mr Havel’s Prague theatre.