Reference no: EM133410134
Freedom of Speech (Arthur)
1. What four reasons does Arthur put forward as showing why freedom of speech is important?
2. What are the two dangers of censorship Arthur brings up?
3. What kinds of restrictions on freedom of speech has the Supreme Court generally accepted? Rejected? Why?
4. What is required before a "wrong" done to a person rises to the level of "harm" according to Arthur? What other authors have we studied this semester that support a similar view of what counts as a harm and what does not?
5. Explain Arthur's concept of group harm. Does he believe there is such a thing? Does he believe it applies to racial and ethnic groups? Explain.
6. What is "cumulative" harm? Why is it relevant in this context?
7. Why does Arthur ultimately deny that cumulative harm to self esteem is sufficient to justify speech codes?
8. What does Arthur assert regarding alleged causal relations between hate speech and other, actual harms?
9. What means of reducing the harms of hate speech does Arthur support? What does he say about harassment?
10. After reading the subsequent piece by Altman, comment on what you think of Arthur's response to his argument.