Dworkin On ‘The Right To Riddicule’

“So in a democracy no one, however powerful or impotent, can have a right not to be insulted or offended. That principle is of particular importance in a nation that strives for racial and ethnic fairness. If weak or unpopular minorities wish to be protected from economic or legal discrimination by law—if they wish laws enacted that prohibit discrimination against them in employment, for instance—then they must be willing to tolerate whatever insults or ridicule people who oppose such legislation wish to offer to their fellow voters, because only a community that permits such insult as part of public debate may legitimately adopt such laws.” – Roland Dworkin, ‘The Right To Riddicule’.

[Dworkin provides an interesting jurisprudential discussion of the role of free speech in democracies, after the ‘Danish Cartoons’.]

A Couple Of Contemporary French Philosophy Related Articles

Just a couple of articles that have caught my attention of late. Firstly, two Francis Fukuyama items; a discussion with Bernard-Henri Levy, and an article on neoconservatism.

Secondly, ‘The Pyres Of Autumn’ by Baudrillard.

Thirdly, a piece on Alain Badiou.

On ‘Objective Ethics’

Bill Pascoe has commenced a discussion on objectivity and ethics, over at Dialectic.

The question that I have been considering is whether or not it is appropriate to consider an ‘ethic’ to be anything more than the schema of norms adopted by an individual in the course of ethical decision making?

‘Vitalizing Nature in the Enlightenment’ – Review Notice

Stephen Gaukroger, of the University of Sydney, has reviewed Peter Hanns Reill’s Vitalizing Nature in the Enlightenment for the Australian Review of Public Affairs.

The initial discussion of the Enlightenment is an interesting read …

Journal Notice – Borderlands Volume 4, Number 2 – Althusser and us

I’m going to be brief – there is a case study for Criminal Law that I should be writing – but I found the notice for the latest issue of borderlands – a free e-journal for those unfamiliar – in my in-box. It’s topic is Althusser. I’ve not had a chance to read the articles, but there is probably some interesting stuff there-within.

Now it’s back to the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act (NSW) 2002 …