Free Speech

'A very important contribution indeed. It is refreshingly undogmatic ... It also helps that Haworth writes in a clear, congenial style.' - Susan Brison, Mind

• Preface and acknowledgements; Part 01 PART ONE; Section 01 I An introduction to the argument; Section 01-01-01 1.1 Mill’s argument and Mine; Section 01-01-02 1.2 The place of Mill’s argument in philosophy and in history; Section 01-01-03 1.3 What is the problem?; Section 01-01-04 1.4 Getting the story right; Section 02 II The liberty of thought and discussion; Section 02-01-01 2.1 Thought and discussion prioritised; Section 02-01-02 2.2 What is ‘thought and discussion’?; Section 02-01-03 2.3 A crack in the fabric: Mill’s ‘corn dealer’ example; Section 03 III A case study; Section 03-01-01 3.1 A German attack on applied ethics; Section 03-01-02 3.2 A short exercise in ‘deconstruction’; Section 03-01-03 3.3 A note on ‘assuming infallibility’; Section 03-01-04 3.4 Conclusion and postscript; Section 04 IV Truth and consequences; Section 04-01-01 4.1 The anti-consequentialist consensus; Section 04-01-02 4.2 The objections from integrity and negative responsibility; Section 04-01-03 4.3 Assessing the consequences; Section 04-01-04 4.4 A note on the ‘free market in ideas’; Section 05 V Consequentialism and the right to free speech; Section 05-01-01 5.1 The anti-consequentialist argument from rights; Section 05-01-02 5.2 Consequentialism: conclusions; Section 06 VI The value of truth; Section 06-01-01 6.1 The value of truth and the threat of relativism; Section 06-01-02 6.2 Value relativism: truth and the good society; Section 06-01-03 6.3 Value relativism: whose vision?; Section 06-01-04 6.4 Epistemic relativism: the ‘true believer’; Section 06-01-05 6.5 An appeal to science; Section 06-01-06 6.6 Epistemic relativism: Rorty’s revisionist liberalism; Section 06-01-07 6.7 Conclusion: are we trapped in a house of mirrors?; Section 07 VII Areopagitica’s aftermath; Section 07-01-01 7.1 ‘One discussion more’; Section 07-01-02 7.2 Parallels and perspective; Section 07-01-03 7.3 Patterns of repression; Section 07-01-04 7.4 Conclusion: the lie of the land; postscript Postscript to Part One: taking stock of the classic defence; Part 02 PART TWO; Section 08 VIII Contract and convention; Section 08-01-01 8.1 Contract and convention: ‘literal’ contractualism; Section 08-01-02 8.2 ‘Conventionalist’ contractualism; Section 08-01-03 8.3 Some interim conclusions; Section 08-01-04 8.4 Contractualism and value relativism; Section 08-01-05 8.5 Conclusion: contractualism and rights; Section 09 IX From the contract to free speech?; Section 09-01-01 9.1 Free speech as a ‘basic liberty’; Section 09-01-02 9.2 Free speech and democracy; Section 09-01-03 9.3 Free speech and liberty of conscience; Section 09-01-04 9.4 From the contract to free speech?; Section 09-01-05 9.5 Contractualism since 1972; Section 10 X Concerning toleration; Section 10-01-01 10.1 Locke’s argument from ‘just bounds’; Section 10-01-02 10.2 Toleration as a model for free speech; Section 10-01-03 10.3 Locke’s argument: conclusions; Section 10-01-04 10.4 The contractualist approach: taking stock; Section 11 XI Conclusions and prospects; Section 11-01-01 11.1 Conclusions; Section 11-01-02 11.2 Prospects; appendix Appendix: Milton and Mill: a comparison of extracts; Notes; References; Index;