More On Columbia And Ahmadinejad

Thanks to all who sent me private email comments.

It occurs to me that the University as an institution has core values, one of them being to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas. However, I question whether this value trumps other fundamental institutional values of the University, such as dedication to humanity, a value harmed, it seems to me, by the presence of such an individual on campus.

Also, the free exchange of ideas can still take place without the institution having to provide a forum to a particular individual. Someone else can make the same arguments thus saving the institution from having to provide a forum for a murderous or genocidal dictator, whether he be Hitler or Ahmadinejad.

John Stuart Mill not withstanding, as Stanley Fish pointed out, there can be no absolutes when it comes to speech.

Jim

Columbia, Free Speech And The Iranian Dictator

Should Columbia University allow Mr. Ahmadinejad to speak? The University takes the classic free speech position that institutions of higher learning must be platforms for the free exchange of ideas. It's tough to swallow sometimes. It's an absolutist argument. When you veer away from the absolutist free speech position and make an exception, say by excluding Ahmadinejad, you then open yourself up to the possibility that the next person denied the opportunity to speak somehwere might be someone you like. However, where I think this absolutist free speech "slippery slope" argument fails, at least in a free society, is that democratic mechanisms combined with ethical considerations can be brought to bear on the selection of those candidates entitled to a forum. They would even allow Hitler to speak, Columbia says. I would not, nor would most reasonable people. Let's see how the dialogue goes between students and faculty and the Iranian dictator. I know that if I were at Columbia I would be protesting.

Jim