Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-355) and index.
Contents:
Foreword : We must not be enemies / John Durham Peters -- Freedom of expression under threat : emblematic cases. I am not Charlie Hebdo : defending freedom of expression but not its content ; The paradox of freedom of expression on campus ; The threat of religious fanaticism : Jyllands-Posten and the Regensburg address ; The rise of a new orthodoxy : the intolerance of secular relativism ; Facebook's content moderation rule : private censorship of public discourse -- The liberal tradition of freedom of expression and its contradictions. The sustainability of the liberal rationale : main critiques ; A fabricated notion of tolerance ; The epistemological shortfall : a homogenous concept of discourse ; The anthropological shortfall : modernity's idea of mankind ; The neutrality of the public space : a useful fiction -- The historical philosophical development of freedom of expression. The origins of freedom of expression ; Old-school and new-school censorship ; The classical tradition of the Founding Fathers of the United States ; The contemporary redefinition of the free speech tradition in the United States ; The European tradition : hate speech laws -- Reconstructing the foundations of freedom of expression. Reframing freedom of expression as a human good ; Reconsidering the legal grounds ; Reshaping the harm principle : pragmatics of language and natural ethics ; Repairing the relationship between the secular and the sacred ; Revisiting the limits of freedom of expression.
Summary:
"This book offers a holistic account of the problems posed by freedom of expression in our current times and offers corrective measures to allow for a more genuine exchange of ideas within the global society. The topic of free speech is rarely addressed from a historical, philosophical, or theological perspective. In The Collapse of Freedom of Expression, Jordi Pujol explores the modern concept of the freedom of expression based on the European Enlightenment, and the deficiencies inherent in this framework. Modernity has disregarded the traditional roots of the freedom of expression drawn from Christianity, Greek philosophy, and Roman law, which has left the door open to the various forms of abuse, censorship, and restrictions seen in contemporary public discourse. Pujol proposes that we rebuild the foundations of the freedom of expression by returning to older traditions and incorporating both the field of pragmatics of language and theological and ethical concepts on human intentionality as new, complementary disciplines. Pujol examines emblematic cases such as Charlie Hebdo, free speech on campus, and online content moderation to elaborate on the tensions that arise within the modern concept of freedom of expression. The book explores the main criticisms of the contemporary liberal tradition by communitarians, libertarians, feminists, and critical race theorists, and analyzes the gaps and contradictions within these traditions. Pujol ultimately offers a reconstruction project that involves bridging the chasm between the secular and the sacred and recognizing that religion is a font of meaning for millions of people, and as such has an inescapable place in the construction of a pluralist public sphere"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.