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"[T]he University of Chicago is founded on, has operated through, and continues to extend a tradition of free inquiry and expression.”
"... President William Rainey Harper’s speech in 1902 ... said that the principle of complete freedom of speech on all subjects has been from the beginning regarded as fundamental in the University of Chicago. ... What does that actually mean in the university context?]
"We use the term free speech, and it has a very strong cultural resonance in the United States of America, but it typically means the absence of constraint. I can say whatever I want, but the government can’t punish me. And obviously, that meaning doesn’t make much sense in a university context, for the reasons you articulated.
"What we really mean, or what we really need to maximise, is people’s willingness and ability to challenge each other on their ideas, so that those ideas are sharpened and improved through open debate. And there’s so many forces that sort of work against that – cultural, institutional, sometimes legal – that that’s really the kind of speech we’re talking about, from my point of view.... I think what’s fundamental is that we prize intellectual challenge.
"And you have to have free expression in order to have that challenge manifest. And that means that we’re in a climate, we seek to cultivate an environment in which assumptions that all of us have are open to inquiry and challenge, and we’re therefore able to develop better ideas. ... we should strive to be a place where we’re in conversation with each other towards improving knowledge and towards teaching young people how to inquire. I think that’s really the core of it, and what a community of scholars means to me."
~ Nico Perrino and Tony Badout in the 'So to Speak' podcast on: 'The Chicago Canon' [transcript here]
"We use the term free speech, and it has a very strong cultural resonance in the United States of America, but it typically means the absence of constraint. I can say whatever I want, but the government can’t punish me. And obviously, that meaning doesn’t make much sense in a university context, for the reasons you articulated.
"What we really mean, or what we really need to maximise, is people’s willingness and ability to challenge each other on their ideas, so that those ideas are sharpened and improved through open debate. And there’s so many forces that sort of work against that – cultural, institutional, sometimes legal – that that’s really the kind of speech we’re talking about, from my point of view.... I think what’s fundamental is that we prize intellectual challenge.
"And you have to have free expression in order to have that challenge manifest. And that means that we’re in a climate, we seek to cultivate an environment in which assumptions that all of us have are open to inquiry and challenge, and we’re therefore able to develop better ideas. ... we should strive to be a place where we’re in conversation with each other towards improving knowledge and towards teaching young people how to inquire. I think that’s really the core of it, and what a community of scholars means to me."
~ Nico Perrino and Tony Badout in the 'So to Speak' podcast on: 'The Chicago Canon' [transcript here]
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English (US) ·