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Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought

  • Book
  • 1993
  • #Politics #Philosophy
Jonathan Rauch
@jon_rauch
(Author)
www.amazon.com
Paperback
4.6/5 17 ratings
Paperback
See on Goodreads
4.47/5 358 ratings
2 Recommenders
3 Mentions
3 Collections
Tracing attacks on free speech from Plato's Republic to America's campuses and newsrooms, Jonathan Rauch provides an engaging and provocative attack on those who would limit free th... Show More

Tracing attacks on free speech from Plato's Republic to America's campuses and newsrooms, Jonathan Rauch provides an engaging and provocative attack on those who would limit free thought by restricting free speech. Rauch explores how the system for producing knowledge works in a liberal society, and why it has now become the object of a powerful ideological attack. Moving beyond the First Amendment, he defends the morality, rather than the legality, of an intellectual regime that relies on unfettered and often hurtful criticism. Kindly Inquisitors is a refreshing and vibrant essay, casting a provocative light on the raging debates over political correctness and multiculturalism.

"Fiercely argued. . . . What sets his study apart is his attempt to situate recent developments in a long-range historical perspective and to defend the system of free intellectual inquiry as a socially productive method of channeling prejudice."—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"Like no other, this book restates the core of our freedom and demonstrates how great, and disregarded, the peril to that freedom has become."—Joseph Coates, Chicago Tribune

"The philosophical defense of free speech and free thought that seems to have been forgotten. . . . A powerful argument."—Diane Ravitch, Wall Street Journal

(From Goodreads)

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Number of Pages: 187

ISBN: 0226705765

ISBN-13: 9780226705767

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Erik Torenberg @ErikTorenberg · Jan 1, 2021
  • Curated in Most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
Rauche tries to defend liberalism in his book, "Kindly Inquisitors" by saying that liberalism is all about conflict resolution Markets determine who has economic resources, democracy determines who has political power, and science determines who has truth
Erik Torenberg @ErikTorenberg · Jan 1, 2021
  • Curated in Some of the most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
Greg Lukianoff @glukianoff · Mar 21, 2022
  • Curated in Free Speech Culture
While Mill’s "On Liberty" takes my top spot for the best work ever written on free speech, @jon_rauch ’s "Kindly Inquisitors" is best on the topic in the last 30 years. Particularly impactful is the portion on the fatwa against @SalmanRushdie .
Collections
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  • Greg Lukianoff
    • Collection
    Free Speech Culture
    16 curations
  • Erik Torenberg
    • Collection
    Most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
    22 curations
  • Erik Torenberg
    • Collection
    Some of the most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
    22 curations
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