The Cancellation of Bertrand Russell
Eight decades later, the issues raised by the Russell case—the rights to free speech and academic freedom—have still not been settled.
James Huffman
· 9 min read
Free Speech
A collection of 346 posts
Tolerating Intolerance: The Free Speech Paradox
Should society tolerate intolerance to protect freedom of expression? A deep dive into Karl Popper’s ideas and modern free speech debates.
Angel Eduardo
· 6 min read
The Great Misinformation Panic
By going to war against "misinformation" governments are merely diverting finite resources from addressing real harm to people and property, which purportedly justifies the panic in the first place.
Dara Macdonald
· 8 min read
Fear and Self-Censorship in Higher Education
Unless we can conquer our anxiety and restructure the way we interact, dreams of social unification will remain dead on arrival.
Ash Kahn
· 11 min read
Corporate Rainbow Marketing: Too Much of a Good Thing
A recent dust-up involving NHL goalie James Reimer demonstrates the folly of pitting Pride PR against the conscience of individual actors.
Allan Stratton
· 7 min read
Words Don’t Matter
We have power over words, not vice versa.
Lawrence M. Krauss
· 6 min read
Amy Wax and Academic Freedom
The investigation into the polarizing law professor violates the most basic tenets of academic freedom.
Steven Grant
· 14 min read
Ending Discrimination by Twitter
Gender critical feminists are among those who have been excluded from Twitter for years. The time is right for a correction.
Holly Lawford-Smith
· 9 min read
The Case Against Hate-Speech Laws: a Canadian Perspective
It is not science fiction to imagine that Section 319 and other as-yet-undrafted Canadian “anti-hate” laws will metastasize.
Jonathan Kay
· 6 min read
The Disgraceful Firing of Joshua T. Katz
Joshua Katz knew it was dangerous to go public with his objections to a Princeton faculty letter, but he did so because his conscience demanded it. For this, he has paid an intolerable price.
The Quillette Editorial Board
· 13 min read
Building a Better Twitter
Twitter’s current policy on content isn’t one dimensional: It serves up both false positives and false negatives—wrongly banning certain accounts for thoughtcrimes while permitting others to continue on the platform despite engaging in grotesquely abusive behavior.
The Quillette Editorial Board
· 5 min read
Problems with Mill’s Masterpiece
The condition of human life is such that we must of necessity be restrained and compelled by circumstances in nearly every action of our lives. Why, then, is liberty, defined as Mr. Mill defines it, to be regarded as so precious? ~James Fitzjames Stephen Of all the works written in
Bo Winegard
· 18 min read
Stephen Kershnar and the Importance of Unaskable Questions
Unpopular, unorthodox and extreme opinions no less than any others need their spokesmen, in order that our chances of discovering truths and making wise decisions be increased. ~Joel Feinberg In January of this year, SUNY Fredonia ethicist Stephen Kershnar appeared on an episode of our philosophy podcast, Brain in a
Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff
· 8 min read
How Much Real-World Extremism Does Online Hate Actually Cause?
While calls to censor hate speech and violent extremist content on social media platforms are common, there’s little evidence that online incitement leads to real-world radicalization. Ironically, such calls may actually galvanize extremists, who interpret hostile media coverage, commentary, and censorship policies as confirmation of their victimhood narratives and
Bill Ottman and Jesse Morton
· 7 min read
Quillette Podcast #182: Jacob Mchangama on His New Book, ’Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media’
Jonathan Kay interviews Jacob Mchangama on his book tracing free speech from Socrates to social media and why societies often reject dissent.
Jonathan Kay, Jacob Mchangama
· 1 min read