Mill on Free Speech Flashcards
To overcome your _________ bias you must ____________ by listening to ideas that oppose your own. Don’t ________ opposing ideas.
- Confirmation
- Challenge your own beliefs
- Censor
What is Mill’s thesis on free speech?
When you disagree with what other people are saying you should let them speak not censor them.
The best way to defeat bad ideas is _______ not ________
- Good ideas
- Censorship
What are Mill’s three arguments on why free speech is so necessary?
- Your opponent may be correct.
- Your opponent may be false, but we shouldn’t be complacent in our truth.
- Your opponent’s speech is usually partially true. As is our own. Finding the truth should be the priority.
What is the main point of Mill’s 1st argument? What is his reasoning?
You could be mistaken, and they may be correct.
If you can’t believe this is a possibility then you believe you are infallible. Which is dangerous.
What is the main point of Mill’s 2nd argument? What is his reasoning?
If your opponent is wrong, don’t be complacent.
Replace your dead dogma with the living truth.
Dead Dogma: Your belief in a truth, but the inability to understand/defend why it is true.
Living Truth: Your belief that a statement is true with the ability to defend it.
What is the main point of Mill’s 3rd argument? What is his reasoning?
This gives you the chance to combine your partial truth and your opponent’s partial truth to reach a closer version to the truth and have a better undeerstanding
What is the Marketplace of Ideas metaphor?
Truth will emerge in a free marketplace of ideas, as they will overcome falsehoods. It is arguing for freedom of speech.
What are the four legal exceptions to free speech in the US? (What type of speech is illegal?)
- Harassing Speech
- Threats
- Defamation
- Incitement/ Imminent Harm
What three controversial types of speech are legal in the US?
- Offensive Speech
- Hateful Speech & Protest
- Harmful Tendency
What is Mill’s general thesis?
We should allow our opponents to speak freely all the time.
