MAJOR MAINTENANCE WORK – Harvey Mansfield was a professor of philosophy at Harvard for sixty years. This recently retired major conservatism leader comments on the evolution of American universities and, in particular, the rise of progressive movements that place great importance on freedom of expression for students and faculty.
LE FIGARO. – During your Harvard commencement speech, you spoke about increasing self-censorship in science. What did you mean by that? ?
Harvey MANSFIELD. – An Iranian student in my class once told me, “In Iran you have to be careful what you say in public, but in private you can say pretty much whatever you want.” At Harvard, the opposite is true. » It is a form of self-censorship on the part of students out of fear of other students, an opportunity to keep their thoughts and doubts to themselves, even among their peers. This is now a fact at most American universities, especially the most prestigious ones.
There is a lot of talk about the wokism that exists in American universities. Do you think this is a real threat or a moral panic? ?
The woke activism in universities is the reason why students practice self-censorship. It is a dogmatic insistence on the truth and power of progressivism based on the concept of identity. The identity…
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