Friday 1 September 2006

Fewtril #117

The principle that controversial or objectionable views ought not to be suppressed, but rather shown to be wrong through reasoned debate, is usually defended only when a man is under the impression that those views have little reason in their favour. So much for magnanimity!

3 comments:

D. C. Warmington said...

A bit contentious, that, I'd say. In
this piece I mention an example of intolerance by left-wing students. Even then I found myself to the right of these bigots and quite wanted to hear for myself what the man had to say: though my prejudices, formed from reading the newspaper, suggested that I would disagree with him.

Mind you, I make no claims for magnanimity.

dearieme said...

principle, old thing.

Deogolwulf said...

Mr Fuller,
I am suggesting that magnanimity does not usually lie behind the principle. Of course, there are genuinely magnanimous people; they're just much rarer than the commonness of the principle might suggest.

Dearieme,
Ach! I beg your pardon. The error is now corrected.

I shall go without supper.