Academic Freedom -- Abandoning all pretense

The Doctrine of Academic Freedom

Sandra Y.L. Korn in The Harvard Crimson

Quote:

Let’s give up on academic freedom in favor of justice ... Yet the liberal obsession with “academic freedom” seems a bit misplaced to me. After all, no one ever has “full freedom” in research and publication. Which research proposals receive funding and what papers are accepted for publication are always contingent on political priorities. The words used to articulate a research question can have implications for its outcome. No academic question is ever “free” from political realities. If our university community opposes racism, sexism, and heterosexism, why should we put up with research that counters our goals simply in the name of “academic freedom”? Instead, I would like to propose a more rigorous standard: one of “academic justice .” When an academic community observes research promoting or justifying oppression, it should ensure that this research does not continue. ...

Emphasis added.



Analysis: Any formulation of the form {adjective} justice is a totalitarian buzzword meaning group vengeance.

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