Kindly Inquisitors

Since its publication in 1993, Kindly Inquisitors has challenged readers with its bracing and provocative exploration of the issues surrounding attempts to limit free speech. Jonathan Rauch makes a persuasive argument for the value of what he sees as a pillar of liberal society: "liberal science," the system for producing knowledge within such a society, a system based on choosing between conflicting views. Moving beyond a defense of the First Amendment, Rauch defends the morality, as well as the very real benefits, of an intellectual regime that relies on unfettered and often hurtful criticism to make progress. This Expanded Edition includes a Foreword by George F. Will emphasizing the book's continuing relevance and a substantial Afterword by Rauch which updates and elaborates upon his original arguments. Two decades on, Rauch notes that, while some progress has been made, the regulation of speech deemed hateful or assaultive or harassing has spread internationally--where there is no First Amendment to act as a buffer--and has dug in domestically, especially in American universities. But the answer to bias and prejudice, he argues, is pluralism, not purism. The answer is not to try to legislate bias and prejudice out of existence or to drive them underground, but to pit biases and prejudices against each other and make them fight in the open. It was this process, playing out over the last twenty years, that has been responsible for the acceptance of the morality of homosexuality. And it is this process, liberal science, which will enable us as a society to replace hate with knowledge, both ethical and empirical. With strong backing from the Cato Institute, this new edition will bring renewed attention to a classic defense of free thought and free expression.