Academic freedom the very touchstone of real and rigorous debate

Academic freedom is justified in terms of the long-term benefits it brings to society through the advancement of knowledge, best served when inquiry is free from restraints from State, Church, or other institutions/groups. Academic freedom thrives on diversity, encouraging free contest of contrasting ideas, thereby facilitating reliable discovery of new knowledge.Academic freedom in countries lacking democratic traditions is granted unreliably and unevenly.

But apart from dictatorial regimes, there are many threats to academic freedom worldwide. One worrying development is the growing campus culture of intolerance towards expression of legitimate opinions deemed to be on the “wrong” side of a range of issues, for example sexual orientation/gender/transgender issues, abortion, immigration policy and religion.Ireland has so far experienced only mild versions of this new intolerance.

But policing submitted articles as NHB proposes is not the proper business of journal editors. All review should be by professional peers who are well able to analyse unwarranted statements, not by editors pushing “progressive” agendas, as pointed out by Jonathan Rauch in. Also, the proposed NHB guidelines are so broad and vague they would certainly have a chilling effect on any research that might find racial, sexual or cultural differences between groups.

Universities are places where the essential civic muscles of a pluralistic society are built. Academic freedom is the keystone that allows us to argue and debate rigorously with each other, while still remaining friends, instead of shouting abuse at each other from our respective bunkers.

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