Even great works of literature and philosophy—from Huckleberry Finn and Heart of Darkness to, believe it or not, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason—are now regularly accompanied by "trigger warnings" that alert prospective readers to the racism, sexism, homophobia, or classism contained therein.

And popping up more and more at our colleges and universities are "safe spaces" where exquisitely sensitive students can retreat in the wake of jarring confrontations with points of view with which they don't sympathize.

My favorite example of this was at Brown University where school administrators provided retreat centers with play-doh, crayons, and videos of frolicking puppies to calm the nerves of their students even before a controversial debate commenced! Apparently even the prospect of public argument sent these students to an updated version of daycare.

Of course a paradoxical concomitant of this exaggerated sensitivity to giving offense is a proclivity to aggressiveness and verbal violence; for once authentic debate has been ruled out of court, the only recourse contesting parties have is to some form of censorship or bullying.

There is obviously much that can and should be mocked in all of this, but I won't go down that road. Instead, I would like to revisit a time when people knew how to have a public argument about the most hotly-contested matters.

Though it might come as a surprise to many, I'm talking about the High Middle Ages, when the university system was born. And to illustrate the medieval method of disciplined conversation there is no better candidate than St. Thomas Aquinas.

The principal means of teaching in the medieval university was not the classroom lecture, which became prominent only in the 19th century German system of education; rather, it was the quaestio disputata (disputed question), which was a lively, sometimes raucous, and very public intellectual exchange.

Though the written texts of Aquinas can strike us today as a tad turgid, we have to recall that they are grounded in these disciplined but decidedly energetic conversations. Continue reading

Sources

• Word on Fire article by Bishop Robert Barron.
• Image: Christian Classics

Professor Timothy Garton Ash, a professor of European Studies, made this comment while warning that universities must "hold the line" against the "salami slicing" of free speech.

At a festival in Wales, he was promoting his book titled "Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World".

He noted threats to the tradition of free speech in universities coming from above from the Government and from below in the form of students' sensitivities.

Professor Garton Ash said UK universities are now encouraged by counter-terrorism legislation to block even non-violent extremists from appearing on site.

This comes in the form of a "prevent duty" aimed at stopping radicalisation of vulnerable students.

At the same time, a number of UK universities now pledge to create a "safe space' for their students.

This is inspired by similar policies in the US, in order to protect students from language or behaviour which could be considered offensive or threatening.

But Professor Garton Ash said he had noticed an increasing trend for a small number of offended individuals to be able to shut debate down on campus.

He described this as a "subjective veto act".

With regard to "prevent duties", he said historic figures like Marx, Hegel, Darwin, Rousseau and "definitely Jesus Christ" could be considered "non-violent extremists" today.

"The Home Office wouldn't want [Jesus] preaching on campus.

"This is a real threat I think to free speech and one we have to fight back against."

While student concerns must be listened to, universities have to fight to hold the line, he said.

A Home Office spokesman said that the law states that, in complying with prevent duties, universities must have particular regard to their duty to ensure freedom of speech and academic freedom.

"In many cases, complying with the prevent duty is as simple as ensuring there is an effective chair and a strong opposition voice," the spokesman said.

In November last year, Oxford University cancelled an abortion debate after female students complained they would be offended by a man being on a panel.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Daily Mail
• Image: Theology21.com