Freedom of Expression in a Diverse World (AMINTAPHIL: The Philosophical Foundations of Law and Justice Book 3)

The debate over the foundations and boundaries of freedom of speech, once a matter of balancing the individual rights of unpopular speakers against broader social interests, took on a new shape in the 1980s when feminists began to advocate restrictions on pornography and critical race theorists to advocate restriction of certain kinds of hate speech. These challenges to traditional liberalism brought into sharp focus the issues of why we value free speech and how much weight it should be given against competing values. Difficult as it is to resolve these issues domestically, we now face new challenges arising from the increasingly rapid dissemination of information across international borders in an atmosphere of considerable political tension. The riots in response to the publication of Danish cartoons ridiculing Mohammed and the death threats against Salman Rushdie indicate how dramatically the stakes have been raised. At the same time, there is increased concern over discriminatory treatment of sexual minorities, Muslims, and immigrants. Against this background, the essays in this volume seek to illuminate why we value freedom of speech and expression and how this freedom can be weighed against other values, such as multicultural sensitivity, the rights of racial and sexual minorities, and the prevention of violence, both domestically and internationally. The essays in this volume consider issues at the intersection of freedom of expression and racial, cultural, and gender diversity. The claims of those whose cultures and beliefs differ from our own are no longer the exclusive province of diplomats, as the Danish newspaper that published cartoons ridiculing Mohammed quickly learned. Negotiating the claims of freedom of expression as they come into open conflict with a wide diversity of viewpoints, both domestically and internationally, has become an increasingly complex task. The present volume seeks both to provide fresh insight into the philosophical grounds for limiting government restriction of expression and to address current tensions between freedom of expression and pluralism. The suppression of ideas by government is no doubt as old as government itself. Ideas help to keep governments in power, and opposing ideas can help them to lose it. As well, through most of the history of the world, the belief that some know b- ter than others what is true, what is right, and what is valuable has been sufficiently widespread to make it seem natural for those betters to dictate for the rest what they should believe. Just as clerics did not hesitate to dictate to their congregations, Christians did not hesitate to impose their beliefs on non-Christians in order to save their souls. Front Matter....Pages i-xxviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Free Speech and the Social Technologies of Democracy, Scientific Inquiry and the Free Market....Pages 3-11 Hate Speech in the Marketplace of Ideas....Pages 13-25 The “Marketplace of Ideas:” A Siren Song for Freedom of Speech Theorists....Pages 27-37 A Kantian Conception of Free Speech....Pages 39-55 Free Speech, Equal Opportunity, and Justice....Pages 57-71 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 Is It Immoral to Prohibit Sexually Harassing Speech in the Classroom?....Pages 75-85 The Morality of Using “Nigger”....Pages 87-100 Incitement to Genocide and the Rwanda Media Case....Pages 101-113 Hijabs and Headwraps: The Case for Tolerance....Pages 115-127 “Conspicuous” Religious Symbols and Laïcité ....Pages 129-144 Front Matter....Pages 145-145 When Free Speech Meets Free Association: The Case of the Boy Scouts....Pages 147-161 Oaths and the Pledge of Allegiance: Freedom of Expression and the Right to Be Silent....Pages 163-176 Speaking Freely....Pages 177-187 Social Institutions, Transgendered Lives, and the Scope of Free Expression....Pages 189-203 Back Matter....Pages 205-215 Free speech and the social technologies of democracy, scientific inquiry and the free market -- Richard Barron Parker Hate speech in the marketplace of ideas -- Steven P. Lee The "marketplace of ideas" : a siren song for freedom of speech theorists -- Jonathan Schonsheck A Kantian conception of free speech -- Helga Varden Free speech, equal opportunity, and justice -- Alistair M. Macleod Is it immoral to prohibit sexually harassing speech in the classroom? -- Thomas Peard The morality of using "nigger" -- Rodney C. Roberts Incitement to genocide and the Rwanda media case -- Larry May Hijabs and headwraps : the case for tolerance -- Anita L. Allen "Conspicuous" religious symbols and laïcité -- Christine T. Sistare When free speech meets free association : the case of the Boy Scouts -- Emily R. Gill Oaths and the Pledge of Allegiance : freedom of expression and the right to be silent -- Kenneth Henley Speaking freely -- Wade L. Robison Social institutions, transgendered lives, and the scope of free expression -- Richard Nunan.