I’ll be speaking at St. John’s University on March 27. My topic is “Safe and/or Free Speech in Postmodern Times.”
Abstract: The liberal case for free speech won out in the modern world — but it has been challenged strongly, not only by traditional conservatives but also by the postmodern left. Hate speech, micro-aggressions, safe spaces, speech codes, mandated pronouns, trigger warnings, and restricted reading lists are contested vigorously — but our current debates depend on groundwork developed by philosophers across several generations. In this lecture, Stephen Hicks discusses the philosophical arguments of speech-control advocates and responds with an updated liberal case for free speech.
Thanks very much to Professor Douglas Rasmussen for the invitation.