Heterodox Out Loud

What’s Wrong with Our Universities? With Steven Pinker | Ep. 08

Jan 31, 2024

Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist at Harvard, discusses the challenges to academic freedom in the era of cancel culture and the suppression of dissenting opinions in universities. They explore the decrease in trust in universities and the impact of punishment for truthful statements. The importance of defending defendants in the criminal justice system and the significance of free speech in universities are also highlighted. The podcast delves into the corporatization of universities, the role of cultural norms in open inquiry, and the manipulation of common knowledge. Finally, they discuss the importance of changing the culture in universities, focusing on Harvard.

57:36

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Episode guests

Steven Pinker

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Quick takeaways

The erosion of trust in higher education institutions is a pressing concern, with universities being perceived as restricting free speech and stifling open inquiry.

Universities face multiple challenges, including rising political polarization, social segregation, and the corporatization of education, which have implications for academic freedom and free speech.

The Council for Academic Freedom at Harvard plays a vital role in raising awareness about the value of free speech on campus, enforcing existing policies, and promoting dialogue and civil discourse within the academic community.

Deep dives

The Importance of Defending Academic Freedom on Campus

The podcast episode delves into the pressing need to defend academic freedom on college campuses. The discussion highlights the formation of the Council for Academic Freedom at Harvard, which aims to address the widespread impression that universities are restricting free speech and stifling open inquiry. The erosion of trust in higher education institutions is also discussed, with a Gallup poll revealing a significant decrease in public trust over the past two decades. The podcast emphasizes the crucial role of academic freedom in promoting the pursuit of truth and the dangers of censorship and ideological conformity. The need for a cultural shift, embracing civil discourse and respectful debate, is underscored. The conversation also touches on the impact of cancel culture, the rise of common knowledge in influencing behavior, and the role of institutions and policies in shaping academic culture.

Introduction

3min

The Decrease in Trust in Universities and the Impact of Punishment for Truthful Statements

2min

The Importance of Defending Defendants and Teaching Moments

2min

The Importance of Free Speech in Universities

25min

The Corporatization of Universities and Ideological Conformity

11min

Cultural Norms and Open Inquiry in Universities

3min

The Role of Common Knowledge in Social Interactions

8min

Changing Culture in Universities

4min

Are our higher education institutions still nurturing true intellectual diversity? Our guest today is Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist at Harvard, and today, we'll be exploring the growing concerns within higher ed that institutions are turning into echo chambers, stifling dissent and censoring certain perspectives.

In this thought-provoking episode, we'll be discovering the challenges to academic freedom in the era of cancel culture. We'll explore how questioning a consensus can now come at a cost, impacting the pursuit of truth within academic institutions. We'll also uncover the story of the Council for Academic Freedom at Harvard, which was formed to combat these challenges.

Join us as we delve into policies protecting free speech, and the vital role of civil discourse in the academic community. Together, we'll navigate the complex landscape of universities, grappling with the delicate balance between common knowledge and the suppression of dissenting opinions.

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X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/sapinker

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About Steven:

Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He grew up in Montreal and earned his BA from McGill and his PhD from Harvard. Currently Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” He was Chair of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary and writes frequently for the New York Times, the Guardian, and other publications. His twelfth book, published in 2021, is called Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters.

Follow Heterodox Academy on:

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3Fax5Dy

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3PMYxfw

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/48IYeuJ

Instagram: https://bit.ly/46HKfUg

Substack: https://bit.ly/48IhjNF

🔗 Find out more about Heterodox Academy at: https://linktr.ee/heterodoxoutloud