Description
Book SynopsisThis book offers a holistic account of the problems posed by freedom of expression in our current times and offers corrective measures to allow for a more genuine exchange of ideas within the global society.
The topic of free speech is rarely addressed from a historical, philosophical, or theological perspective. In The Collapse of Freedom of Expression, Jordi Pujol explores both the modern concept of the freedom of expression based on the European Enlightenment and the deficiencies inherent in this framework. Modernity has disregarded the traditional roots of the freedom of expression drawn from Christianity, Greek philosophy, and Roman law, which has left the door open to the various forms of abuse, censorship, and restrictions seen in contemporary public discourse. Pujol proposes that we rebuild the foundations of the freedom of expression by returning to older traditions and incorporating both the field of pragmatics of language and theological and ethical co
Trade Review
“Freedom of speech is under siege today. Unless we relearn its foundations, there is a serious risk that we will lose it. Jordi Pujol reminds us of these foundations and their crucial role in rehabilitating free speech in an age of official and unofficial censorship.” —Samuel Gregg, author of Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization
“Firmly rooted in venerable, even ancient, schools of philosophical and moral thought, The Collapse of Freedom of Expression looks to the future without nostalgia for what is irrevocably in the past. Jordi Pujol is fully open to the unprecedented newness of the historical and social context in which we find ourselves but remains confident that addressing these developments requires a renewal of foundational questions and principles. His book is well worth the attention of all of us who care about the past and the future of freedom of expression, and about the fundamental human goods that it aims to secure." —Paolo Carozza, co-editor of The Practice of Human Development and Dignity
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Foreword by John D. Peters, Yale University
Introduction
Part I – Freedom of Expression under Threat: Emblematic Cases
1. I am not Charlie Hebdo. Defending Freedom of Expression but Not Its Content
2. The Paradox of Freedom of Expression on Campus
3. The Threat of Religious Fanaticism: Jyllands Posten and the Regensburg Address
4. The Rise of a New Orthodoxy: The Intolerance of Secular Relativism
5. Facebook’s Content Moderation Rule: Private Censorship of Public Discourse
PART II – The Liberal Tradition of Freedom of Expression and Its Contradictions
6. The Sustainability of the Liberal Rationale: Main Critiques
7. A Fabricated Notion of Tolerance
8. The Epistemological Shortfall: A Homogenous Concept of Discourse
9. The Anthropological Shortfall: Modernity’s Idea of Mankind
10. The Neutrality of the Public Space: A Useful Fiction
PART III – Historical and Philosophical Development of Freedom of Expression
11. The Origins of Freedom of Expression
12. Old-School and New-School Censorship
13. The Classical Tradition of the Founding Fathers of The United States
14. The Contemporary Tradition in the United States: Holmes and Harvard
15. The European Tradition: Hate Speech Laws
PART IV – Reconstructing the Foundations of Freedom of Expression
16. Reframing Freedom of Expression as a Human Good
17. Reconsidering the Legal Grounds
18. Reshaping the Harm Principle. Pragmatics of Language and Natural Ethics
19. Repairing the Relationship Between Secular and Sacred
20. Revisiting the Limits of Freedom of Expression
