Subtopic 11: Are There Limits to Civil Discourse and Free Speech? (July 2018)

This July conversation is a “Redo” of the November 2017 conversation on this subtopic that was truncated after one posting due to a death in the family of one of the original conversation partners.

Leading Questions: Are there limits to civility? Is the call for civility a means of control by those in power? Is the call for civility a means to marginalize those “who have no voice?” Are there ideas so repugnant and dangerous that they shouldn’t be allowed to be uttered in public? If colleges and universities are committed to the quest for “truth,” what are the limits, if any, on free speech?  

Conversation Partners: 

• Mark Douglas, Professor of Christian Ethics, Columbia Theological Seminary 
• Tony Carnes, Editor and publisher, A Journey Through NYC Religions