Lukianoff on Free Speech

Greg Lukianoff discusses his essay on campus censorship from the book New Threats to Freedom. Are there circumstances under which a person's right to not be offended supersedes a person's right to free speech? Based on the actions of several public universities, it seems that this may be a dangerously common attitude within academia.

www.newthreatstofreedom.com

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Free Speech
• Colleges
• New Threats to Freedom
• Speech Codes
• Censorship
• Lukianoff
• FIRE

[cheesylovesong23]

Why have all these comments been removed? Doesn't that kind of violate the message of this video?

[TheJalyssaEliasen]

Saw a comment that said "We have no 1st amendment anymore. Not on campus, not in the US, and certainly not anywhere else." What kind of bogus statement is that? Go outside of the country to anywhere else in the world and you will see that you seriously underestimate what liberties we have here.

[Lennon4ever1]

@TheJalyssaEliasen Of course you are pointing to countries that are worse, but we must uphold true freedom of expression before we go down that same slippery slope. Don't you agree that it's unpopular speech that must be protected??

[goddessa400]

Hey does anyone know when they will release the winner (S)?

[goddessa400]

does anyone know when they will announce the winner (s)?

[buddaisweird]

I like the message, I like the presentation. However, i find the the totality of the video to be very vague. What kind of censorship is going on? Are campuses actually censoring debates over modern issues? Is this just a theory derived from a more subtle censorship? Some explanation is neccesary, some details.

[ryanmshepard92]

I WILL FUCKING WIN THIS SCHOLARSHIP!

[pdsells]

Debate allows individuals to see the reasons behind the beliefs they profess. I agree with what Mr Lukianoff says about debate forcing people to come to a deeper understanding of the beliefs they hold. Colleges and universities provide a forum for individuals to come together. Many colleges today have rules that prohibit freedom of speech. It seems ironic that the philosophers we hold in high regard began in universities and colleges where they challenged “normal” ideas.

[leighannh8]

We seriously overestimate the freedoms that we do have here. We are all being hearded, recieving targeted messages and falling into doing what we are told we are supposed to do. We buy the foods that are advertized, we don't fight GMOs the way we should. We accept the use of petroleum as a part of our daily lives we have no choice about, we allow big business to run our government, and then we get angry that things don't change, when we aren't putting in the effort to fight them.

[joepat191]

@valthecancangal That's the point! I'm not the one taking things too far - government, companies and colleges all have regulations and policies preventing what I mentioned earlier. We cannot say what we want or wear what we want at work or on campus. Companies are so afraid of being sued because someone is offended that they go overboard and trample on 1st ammendment rights in the name of tolerance. Also - I have NEVER said other religions do not have the right to worship as they wish.

[valthecancangal]

@joepat191 I feel as if you may be taking things too far. Christians still have the right t do whatever they want, wear what they want, say what they want. Society as a whole is embracing all religions and now instead of perhaps stepping on the toes of other religions, society is letting everybody express their beliefs. Though I do not agree with other religions, I believe this is good for our society as it promotes cultural enrichment as well as fair treatment.