Reclaiming Freedom Of Speech At Universities | James Orr, Dennis Prager, John Anderson, Os Guinness

“We saw the spiral of silence…where you have got a dedicated vocal minority that's got its teeth into a contentious issue and is imposing a significant social cost to dissent.”

When Dr James Orr first invited Dr Jordan Peterson to speak at Cambridge, he could not have predicted the backlash. Student activists campaigned on the streets and wrote libellous joint letters. This was an example of one of Britain’s oldest institutions exhibiting cancel culture at its worst.

In our latest ARC Off-Stage Conversation, James Orr shares how a group of academics faced down a vocal minority to defend freedom of speech.

Activists had lobbied the university to restrict thought and inquiry in the name of safety. The university authorities had agreed to make reforms that would have paralysed free inquiry for many scholars overnight, and there was a real social cost for those who disagreed.

This conversation is the first part of a wide-ranging discussion between James Orr, along with John Anderson, Os Guinness, and Dennis Prager. They talk about what it will take to stand up for the truth and free speech, and how we can seek to build and renew institutions.

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GO DEEPER:

- Michael Shellenberger’s paper for ARC Research – ‘Freedom of Speech and Big Tech: Liability and Regulation’ - https://www.arcforum.com/business-and...

- ‘Re-Humanising Education’ - Stephen Blackwood and Bernadette Guthrie - https://www.arc-research.org/research...

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James Orr is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge, UK Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, and Director of UK Programs for Trinity Forum Europe.

Os Guinness is an author and social critic. He holds a DPhil from Oxford University, has been a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and was the lead drafter of 'The Global Charter of Freedom of Conscience and Religion'.

The Hon John Anderson AC FTSE is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from an era of uniquely successful government. John now serves in a broad variety of civic and community pursuits and hosts Australia’s pre-eminent politico-cultural video podcast.

Dennis Prager is an American talk show host and writer. He hosts The Dennis Prager Show and co-founded PragerU, a conservative nonprofit that is focused on changing minds through digital media.

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Join us in shaping this vision, as we draw on the best of our inheritance to build hope-filled future. Let's seek solutions to the problems we face that tap into humanity's highest virtues and remarkable capacity for innovation and ingenuity.

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00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:00 The Intellectual Climate in Universities
00:02:17 Personal Experiences and the Silent Majority
00:04:38 Breaking the Spiral of Silence: The Cambridge Case Study
00:07:30 Exploring Solutions: Institutional Reform and New Beginnings
00:10:06 The Importance of Individual Responsibility and Engagement
00:18:53 Challenges and Support for the Next Generation