"Under the principle enacted by 'hate speech' laws, the individual is no longer free to think and express his thoughts. Instead, he must seek every collective’s permission before speaking, making sure that no one is offended by his ideas and that no one takes his ideas as reason to hate anyone or anything...
"'Hate speech' laws, however, are not the creation of the public but of academics and intellectuals. The reason such laws are becoming more and more widespread is that Western culture is losing its knowledge of why free speech is a value...
"Free speech rests on the idea that knowledge is a value and that to be reached, it requires a sovereign, independent mind choosing to exercise its powers of reason. The value of free speech, in other words, rests on a specific view of the human mind. The dominant voices in the humanities today uphold an opposing view."
~ Onkar Ghate in an interview with The Undercurrent,
collected in the book Defending Free Speech
.
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
"Under the principle enacted by 'hate speech' laws, the individual is no longer free to think and express his thoughts. Instead, he must seek every collective’s permission before speaking, making sure that no one is offended by his ideas and that no one takes his ideas as reason to hate anyone or anything." #QotD
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