Renaud-Philippe Garner

This paper begins with a case-study and then makes a broader argument about how the proper exercise of the intellectual virtues is undermined by failures of character and institutional incentives. Our topic is the rise and spread of trigger warnings as a pedagogical tool. In part I, we define them and explain how they spread. In part II, we review the justifications for trigger warnings. In part III, we review the empirical evidence and show how it undermines these justifications. In part IV, we make a broader argument that draws on Aristotle and MacIntyre. Given that there never was any good evidence that trigger warnings work, why are they so ubiquitous? We argue that their adoption and use is best explained by a lack of prudence which is explained by two other failures. On the one hand, the unwillingness to speak out is due to a failure of character. Pedagogues are not unable to read the evidence, they are unwilling to speak out when doing is costly and requires courage. On the other hand, educational institutions do not favour virtue because professional success is often at odds with the excellence that is internal to teaching.