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In universities and other truth-seeking institutions, free inquiry is under threat.
The practice of free inquiry rests on tolerating dissent and promoting data and logical argument over feelings, status, party rule, or group affiliation. Many of the most noted successes of the West are the fruits of free inquiry, but this legacy is now at risk. Furthermore, our education system is failing to teach the values of free inquiry and free speech, which are vital to preparing citizens to work alongside those with differing opinions.
In The Free Inquiry Papers, an impressive array of academics come together to address this urgent problem. Across 21 chapters, the authors lay out the arguments for free inquiry, document the current threats, and offer solutions to protect and advance free inquiry. The authors represent a range of academic and political backgrounds, but they agree on three fundamental perspectives. First, the current higher education regime now prioritizes activism and status over the search for truth, especially in the social sciences and humanities. This is neither politically nor scientifically sustainable. Second, improvements are possible and would enhance the institutions’ validity and credibility. Third, no one has all the answers.
The erosion of support for free inquiry matters for everyone, but it is especially dangerous for the institutions whose mission is the production of ideas and knowledge. If we lose our ability to debate and discuss ideas openly and honestly, then both science and democracy will yield to a new dark age.
Contents
Part I. The Need for Free Inquiry
- “The Free Inquiry Papers: Why Now?” by Robert Maranto, Catherine Salmon, Lee Jussim, and Sally Satel
- “Why Democracy Requires Free Inquiry” by Graeme Auton, Robert Maranto, and Catherine Salmon
- “Why Free Speech?” by Jonathan Zimmerman
- “Why Social Justice Requires Free Inquiry” by Akeela Careem and Lee Jussim
Part II. Threats to Free Inquiry
- “The Rise of Self-Censorship in America” by Joseph L. Sutherland and James L. Gibson
- “How Institutional Speech Erodes Academic Freedom” by Aaron Saiger
- “Academic Freedom and the Social Media Veto” by Chad G. Rusthoven, George Yancey, Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle, and Donald Alexander Downs
- “Do No Anti-Racist Harm: Medical Education Under Threat” by Sally Satel
- "Lysenkoism Then and Now: A Cautionary Tale of Censorious Social Norms" by Catherine Salmon and Lee Jussim
- "Ostrich Syndrome and Campus Free Expression" by Sean T. Stevens, Nathan Honeycutt, Komi Frey and Andrea Honeycutt
- “Examining the Tensions Between Free Markets and Free Speech” by Brian Knight
Part III. Keeping Free Inquiry Alive
- “Mobilization for Academic Free Speech: The Wisconsin Model” by Donald Alexander Downs
- “Make a Bureaucracy to Beat a Bureaucracy? Free Speech Bureaucracies and How to Get Them” by Robert Maranto
- “Can Intellectual Diversity Be Recovered in Academia?” by George La Noue
- “Merit, Fairness, and Equality as an Alternative to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” by Dorian S. Abbot, Iván Marinovic, and Carlos Carvalho
- “Rhetorical Jujitsu: Leveraging Campus DEI to Promote Ideological Diversity” by Richard E. Redding
- “Fighting the Good Fight in an Age of Unreason: A New Dissident Guide” by Anna I. Krylov and Jay Tanzman
Part IV. Looking Forward
- "Free Speech Advice for the President of Hypothetical U" by Greg Lukianoff and Adam Goldstein
- "Beyond Free Speech: The Constitution of Knowledge" by Jonathan Rauch
- "Conclusion: How to Bring Back Free Inquiry" by Robert Maranto, Lee Jussim, Catherine Salmon, and Sally Satel