Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and author of influential books on free speech, joins to dissect the current landscape of censorship and free expression. They delve into the origins of political correctness and explore the chilling effects of cancel culture on academia. Discussions touch on social media's role in shaping discourse and the ethical responsibilities of tech platforms. Lukianoff also highlights the delicate balance between freedom of speech and the growing trend of self-censorship across political divides.
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Free Speech
Free speech isn't just about legal limits but cultural tolerance for diverse opinions.
The bedrock principle: Speech cannot be banned simply for being offensive.
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US vs. Europe
European countries often view their nations as having a singular identity, leading to restrictions on offensive speech.
The US acknowledges its diverse nature, making a bedrock principle of free speech essential.
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Information Theory
Greg Lukianoff's "pure informational theory": Understanding the world requires knowing what people think, even if those thoughts are repugnant.
Conspiracy theories, while often false, offer valuable insights into people's beliefs and motivations.
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The book explores how the ideas 'what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker,' 'always trust your feelings,' and 'life is a battle between good people and evil people' have become embedded in American culture. These 'Great Untruths' contradict basic psychological principles and ancient wisdom, leading to a culture of safetyism that interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. The authors investigate various social trends, including fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the impact of social media, as well as changes on college campuses and the broader context of political polarization in America.
The shadow university
Press The Free
Harvey Silverglate
Alan Charles Kors
The Shadow University critiques the erosion of liberty on American campuses, documenting the use of speech codes, kangaroo courts, and political indoctrination to enforce conformity. The book argues that these practices undermine free speech and academic freedom, favoring group rights over individual rights. It was influential in the founding of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
Sam Harris speaks with Greg Lukianoff about free speech and cancel culture. They discuss the origins of political correctness, free speech and its boundaries, the bedrock principle of the First Amendment, technology and the marketplace of ideas, epistemic anarchy, social media and cancellation, comparisons to McCarthyism, self-censorship by professors, cancellation from the Left and Right, justified cancellations, the Hunter Biden laptop story, how to deal with Trump in the media, the state of higher education in America, and other topics.
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