'We, the undersigned, believe the following two principles to be the foundation of academic freedom:
(1) that academics, both inside and outside the classroom, have unrestricted liberty to question and test received wisdom and to put forward controversial and unpopular opinions, whether or not these are deemed offensive, and
(2) that academic institutions have no right to curb the exercise of this freedom by members of their staff, or to use it as grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal.'
Academics for Academic Freedom
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"The statement, launched by 64 academics including philosopher A. C. Grayling, would extend the current law that ensures that academics are free to "question and test received wisdom, and to put forward unpopular opinions".
If adopted in law, it would give all academics the unfettered right to speak out on any issue, "both inside and outside the classroom", whether or not it was part of their area of academic expertise and "whether or not these [issues] were deemed offensive"."
Scholars demand right to be offensive
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Reminds me of the issues at Sussex a while back when I supported the decision at the university not to dismiss someone for their publicly stated opinions. I believed in freedom of thought whether or not it was politically correct and even when their opinions were appalling. I just thought that he should keep his opinions separate from his teaching, and did not condone his discrimination.
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