Freedom of speech

JS Mill and the Good Life

This week, we’re thinking about J.S. Mill and the good life. While Mill valued individual choice and freedom, he was also a utilitarian who believed you should always do what produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Can these strands of Mill's thought be reconciled?

Can Words Kill?

Can mere words be used to kill? Words can hurt and offend, but can they be lethal weapons? I don’t mean that in a metaphorical sense. We all can admit that words can hurt or offend. But I’m asking if they can literally kill?

The Culture Wars: Phase 2?

这里有一个猜想。我们现在已经进入了所谓的“文化战争”的新阶段。当前文化战争中的战斗部分是基于对某些人认为是真正的压迫,而另一些人认为只是所谓的“压迫”的程度的相互竞争和明显不可调和的看法。I was prompted to this conjecture partly by recent events on various university campuses and partly by some advice I ran across on aUnitarian-Universalist websiteabout how to be effective allies to those with marginalized ide