Laurie Wastell has written an excellent piece in the Spectator about the ongoing investigations into Nathan Cofnas, a post-doc at Cambridge who wrote a controversial blog post last February that has already seen him lose an unpaid research associate position at Emmanuel College. I should declare an interest here – the Free Speech Union is defending Nathan. Here’s the nub of Laurie’s argument:
You don’t have to agree with what Cofnas wrote to see that the fact he might be fired for expressing his views violates fundamental principles of academic freedom. If people believe he is wrong, then they are perfectly within their rights to say why and how and to explain the flaws in his arguments. Instead, the principal claim levelled against Cofnas has been that some find his ideas ‘offensive’ and ‘distressing’. That may well be so, but if universities are to successfully fulfil their truth-seeking mission, academics’ right to explore offensive or controversial topics must come before considerations of hurt feelings. This vital principle must always be defended – especially when it comes to hard cases. Nathan Cofnas must be free to speak.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: This Substack post by Christopher Brunet about the Cofnas affair is also very good.
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