Customer Reviews

Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought

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For all those who think that the demands of "creation-sciencists" merely for an equal hearing with evolutionary theorists in science class are fair and reasonable, for all those who believe that people who say offensive and hurtful things in universities and elsewhere deserve to be silenced for the common good, or for all those who are convinced that potentially destructive and divisive ideas (such as homophobia, sexism or Holocaust-denial) should be surpressed to make our society more civil and inclusive, this book is for you. For it will show you, lucidly and elegantly, why you are wrong. Our way forward is through what Rauch calls the "liberal scientific" enterprise, the greatest gift of the Enlightenment, not through demands for the excision or surpression of what many consider dangerous or offensive ideas. That, Rauch, shows is the shortcut from modern democracy to a sort of middle-age regulated despotism. The ideas are stimulating in the extreme, the writing exemplary in its clarity, passion and lucidity, and the message about as important as you can get. A must-read, especially for anyone living or working in a university environment.

This book is superb. A well-written, exhaustively researched treatise on the philosophy of "liberal science" and a look at the attacks made on that philosophy by (mostly) well-meaning advocates of inclusion, equality, and civil discourse.

I'm somewhat at a loss to try and describe how important I think this book is. I rarely comment on books I've ordered, but I feel that EVERY educated person should read this book and understand the reasons why an open, critical, unfettered exchange of ideas is of central importance to civilization and to the progress of human knowledge.

Read this book. You'll be glad you did.

This book is superb. A well-written, exhaustively researched treatise on the philosophy of "liberal science" and a look at the attacks made on that philosophy by (mostly) well-meaning advocates of inclusion, equality, and civil discourse.

I'm somewhat at a loss to try and describe how important I think this book is. I rarely comment on books I've ordered, but I feel that EVERY educated person should read this book and understand the reasons why an open, critical, unfettered exchange of ideas is of central importance to civilization and to the progress of human knowledge.

Read this book. You'll be glad you did.

This is a short and profound book. I've read it four times and it gets better every time. In fact it is the only book that I have ever read four times. It has changed my views on free speech for ever.

What's the core argument in the book? Well, one cannot explain it in a short review, which is always a good sign (if one could, what would be the point of reading an entire book?). But in a nutshell, it is a defense of unlimited free speech. I say *unlimited* because while most people see value in free speech, most people would also argue that there have to be some limits (hate speech, for example, or denying the holocaust). This makes intuitive sense, and this was also my point of view - before reading this book. The book has convinced me that the power of free speech lies EXACTLY in the ability to express opposing views, no matter what they are. (This is a gross oversimplification of the book - you really have to read it).

This is not a political book - it is a philosophical book, but one that doesn't require any previous formal philosophical education. Anyone can, and I think everyone should read it.

I found this book at an extremely low value. The book was in perfect condition. I have not started reading it however, because my class barely started.
I recommend this seller!
Thank you

An excellent book on the value of open inquiry and the threats it faces. I would also recommend Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" for a related perspective on scientific vs. unscientific reasoning.