Today, it is not a knowledge deficit that is addressed by education but an emotional one, where building self esteem and emotional well-being rather than engaging in ideas and concepts is the goal.

Is this a progressive step toward a more enlightened and compassionate society? Or is it a trap that is stifling creativity, undermining independance and deflecting subjectivity?

"'The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education' is eye-opening reading for every teacher, student teacher and parent who retains any belief in the power of knowledge to transform people's lives. Its insistent call for a serious public debate about the emotional state of education should also be at the forefront of the minds of every agent of change in society... from parent to policy maker."

Dr Rob Clowes is writing a book with the working title ‘Being Human in the Age of Facebook’. He presented some of his work in progress to the Brighton Salon on Tuesday 21 July. His background in the IT industry and the philosophy of science gave him several ways to investigate what has become a huge phenomenon.

Rob Clowes: A couple of years ago we organised a salon with Helen Birtwistle of the Institute of Ideas on the meaning of friendship, and the then quite new social networking sites such as Facebook. A US survey in 2004 had found that up to 25% of people claimed that they had no real intimates. Yet by 2007 there was networking technology where people would ask: ‘Can I be your friend?’ What is it all about? Why is it so important?

Brighton is a booze ban city. Drinking alcohol is not actually illegal, but possessing it can result in its seizure by police and community officers. This is a terrible idea legally, but perhaps more importantly, the powers the Home Office has given Brighton and Hove City Council, and its abuse of them, is a socially corrosive crackdown on public culture.

This morning my friend and colleague Dan Travis was live on BBC1 discussing the alcohol-control zones that we’ve been discussing publicly and campaigning about this week. Dan produced and chaired a discussion on the Brighton booze ban on Thursday evening. It featured Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club, and me, representing the Brighton Salon. On Saturday afternoon, a group of us had a ‘protest picnic’ on the beach near Hove.