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Definition:
Academic freedom has two primary connotations. The first involves the freedom of
individual scholars to write, speak and teach on whatever topics they consider important
or factual. Thus, if a professor thinks that it is important to research the differences
between men and women, he should be allowed to do so. If he finds that such differences
do exist, he should be allowed to write and teach that.
The second important connotation is the idea that an entire academic institution, be it a university or a research group, should have the freedom to decide upon policies, practices, and goals without being restrained or controlled by outside agencies - be they political in the sense of the government or private in the sense of corporations or special interest groups. This sense of academic freedom is largely derivative, because the freedom of the institution is based upon the freedom of the individual researchers and scholars.
At times the term academic freedom is used to refer to a near-absolute freedom of a teacher to perform her job without unreasonable restrictions and without fear of censure due to the unpopular nature of the subject or conclusions. Accompanying this has also been the idea of a near-absolute freedom on the part of students to learn without fear of external political or social pressures.
The concept of academic freedom stems from the development of liberalism and the idea of freedom of thought, even when that thought comes up against traditional restrictions from political and religious authorities. With the development of liberalism during the Enlightenment, philosophers found that their challenging of tradition brought censure from different authorities. They, in turn, asserted for themselves the right to go wherever their minds and ideas lead them. When the call for intellectual freedom occurred in an academic environment, it became a call for academic freedom for teaching and learning.
However, the demands for academic freedom go further than the more general demands for intellectual freedom. The average person who espouses unpopular ideas must be ready to contend with disapproval and so must a university professor - however, the professor expects to be protected from the most serious consequences, including the loss of her job.
This expectation is based not simply upon the notion that people must be free to go where their ideas lead them, but instead upon the special character of the university as a place where knowledge is discovered and explored. New truths will not be found unless researchers are permitted to make mistakes - thus, the widest possible range of freedom should be accorded to those working there. This does not imply a complete lack of oversight, but errors are corrected through the work of colleagues rather than official punishment.
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Related Resources:
What are Political and Legal Philosophy
The Philosophy of Politics and the Philosophy of Law are often studied separately, but they are presented here jointly because they both come back to the same thing: the study of force. Politics is the study of political force in the general community, while jurisprudence is the study of how laws can and should be used to achieve political and social goals.What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
