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No-Platforming and Higher-Order Evidence, or Anti-Anti-No-Platforming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2019

NEIL LEVY Open the ORCID record for NEIL LEVY [Opens in a new window]
NEIL LEVY*
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MACQUARIE UNIVERSITYneil.levy@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

No-platforming—the refusal to allow those who espouse views seen as inflammatory the opportunity to speak in certain forums—is very controversial. Proponents typically cite the possibility of harms to disadvantaged groups and, sometimes, epistemically paternalistic considerations. Opponents invoke the value of free speech and respect for intellectual autonomy in favor of more open speech, arguing that the harms that might arise from bad speech are best addressed by rebuttal, not silencing. In this article, I argue that there is a powerful consideration in favor of no-platforming some speakers: allowing them a platform generates genuine higher-order evidence in favor of their claims. When that higher-order evidence would be misleading, we may reasonably believe it should not be generated.

Keywords

No-platforminghigher-order evidencepaternalism
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of the American Philosophical Association , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , Winter 2019 , pp. 487 - 502
Copyright
Copyright © American Philosophical Association 2019

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