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Re:Why Academic Freedom Matters (2021) by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF on Monday July 25, 2022 @03:14PM (#32229513)
> I wonder why these type of op-eds [seem] to always defend the speech of racists or those in favour of the beliefs of old billionaires, or the importance of publishing racist (etc) speech ...

It might help to consider that these beliefs are widely held and therefore more commonly encountered. I don't see why the argument can't be extended to the other classes of speech you mentioned.

> Freedom of speech does not mean a right to be heard ...

I feel like if that's the argument you're making, then you misunderstood the argument that was made. I don't think a person I disagree with has a right to be heard but I'd love to hear what our disagreement is. An important point to understand is that it's more likely for me to have a better understanding of my own opinion (rather than having it changed) specifically because I listened to and considered the dissenting opinion. It seems that it can only help me understand where the disagreement is.

Perhaps more to the point: that it's speech being suppressed not by a government but rather a private entity doesn't mean that I would (or should) agree with said suppression. You can disagree but, indeed, that can only happen after you've heard me out.

Re:Why Academic Freedom Matters (2021) by igorkraw on Monday July 25, 2022 @03:44PM (#32229932)
To the first: you are free to seek the information elsewhere. That's the whole point of my argument, the whole "the person who loses when X is silenced is not the speaker but the listener" doesn't work when you can go to 100 websites and make your voice heard, possibly earning lots of money while complaining about being silenced. And bans on teaching critical race theory is being called for by similar groups that are decrying the death of free speech when racists get criticized.

To the second: The thing is, if I'm a student paying tuition, or a colleague who's implicated by you, can I push for official sanctioning and/or dissociation once you make your speech? I'd argue yes. It's private institutions which can make their own rules (public institutions are more complicated, but are often held to a standard of "public pressure is okay, state pressure isn't" in my country)

As long as we have a healthy media and educational system of diversity , these debates and issues are not about free speech, they are about people exercising their free speech, then getting a bunch of other people using their free speech to react to it and calling for consequences and the initial speakers wanting indemnity. Those who complain about silence tend to be quite audible. I'd say, let them do like those who founded https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_University_of_Berlin instead of trying to evade consequences in cushy, well paid jobs

Re:Why Academic Freedom Matters (2021) by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF on Monday July 25, 2022 @04:23PM (#32230418)
It seems that you missed the point behind this statement: You can disagree but, indeed, that can only happen after you've heard me out.

The argument being made in TFA (and by John Stuart Mill) is that an opinion can only be rationally disagreed with after its been heard and understood. I'm all for an argument against that point but you should consider how much you're talking around that point rather than to it.

You can think the way you do all you want but you're misunderstanding if you think John Stuart Mill's argument is anything other than that it is irrational to do so.

Re:Why Academic Freedom Matters (2021) by igorkraw on Wednesday July 27, 2022 @10:25AM (#32250766)
These arguments have been heard a lot though, so why do we have to keep giving them platforms?