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+1. > I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it -- Attributed to Voltaire. IMO, that perspective is one of the keysto
by pnathan 14y ago
+1.
> I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it
-- Attributed to Voltaire.
IMO, that perspective is one of the keystones of our culture, and not to be thrown away lightly.
- lawnchair_larry 14y agoYou should understand that does not apply here. That quote doesn't extend to defending intolerance, because it is wholly incompatible with it. This isn't surprising, but context is often lost with that quote. Think about it for a second, how can you advocate that you would defend one's freedom to limit one's freedom?
- pnathan 14y agoDisagree. If someone wants to be intolerant, that needs also to be defended, up to some limit. Otherwise we wind up embedding our morals onto their life.
- philh 14y ago> how can you advocate that you would defend one's freedom to limit one's freedom? You're confusing the quotation with the referent. (Or at least making a similar class of mistake.) I won't defend your freedom to limit my freedom, but I will defend your freedom to say that my freedom should be limited. (Even if doing that makes it more likely that my freedom will in fact be limited.) I'm sure I'll draw a line somewhere, but so far I can't think of anyone whose speech I find sufficiently scary that I want them silenced.
- AnthonyMouse 14y agoYou're failing to distinguish between speech and action. If someone wants to argue that we should limit freedom, let them speak. They may be wrong but we can hear them out -- and once their argument is put in the light of day we can deconstruct it and prove why they're wrong, if they are. There is no need to censor idiots; just give them enough rope and they'll hang themselves in front of everyone. Leaving wrong ideas on display is a necessary part of democracy, because it encourages the refutations to be regularly publicized as well. It requires people to understand why an idea is wrong, rather than merely being told that it is and admonished never to speak of it again. If you don't allow people who are wrong to be wrong in public, they will continue to be wrong in private where no one is there to correct them.
- qu4z-2 14y agoAs sibling comments said, I advocate that I'd defend one's freedom to advocate limiting one's freedom.