Having a voice and getting a hearing: An educational perspective on free speech in a plural society
✍ Scribed by Patricia White
- Publisher
- Springer
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 532 KB
- Volume
- 15
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0039-3746
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This paper examines Ronald Dworkin's claim that the right to free speech does not include a fight to circumstances that encourage citizens to speak nor a right to competent and sympathetic understanding on the part of listeners. Drawing on familiar arguments for the existence of other human rights, the paper challenges Dworkin's claim. Even if, however, the challenge fails and it is not possible to show that there is such a right, that is not the end of the story. It is argued that democratic societies should try to foster conditions in which citizens are encouraged to speak and are listened to sympathetically in the interests of the well-being and flourishing of the polity. The important role education has to play in this is explored.