ABSTRACT
What was once an almost monastic environment of secluded calm disparaged by philistines as ‘the ivory tower’ now seems to be a place where it is widely assumed that staff and students may need counselling to cope with all aspects of university life. Increasing numbers of students and staff accept this assumption and see the services and support systems on offer as unexceptional. Unhesitatingly, they openly present themselves as having emotional and social problems. The greatest minds and brightest young people now find that the opportunity to pursue truth and wisdom in the ‘groves of academe’ is an emotional treadmill. This change leads us to ask what has happened to the life of the mind to make it an emotional rather than a critical business.
