Conquer thyself “Conquer thyself, till thou hast done this, thou art but a slave; for it is almost as well to be subjected to another’s appetite as to thine own.” Sir Richard Francis Burton
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Galileo and why we need Free Speech In 1610 Galileo published “Sidereus Nuncius” which outlined his observations he had made why researching the universe, which talked about moons around Jupiter and other wild stuff. In 1616 the inquisition declared the theory’s expressed to be heretical and his books were banned. He was ordered not to hold meetings, teach or defend his views, but being slight stubborn, he then went on to come up with a theory of…
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Do what thy manhood bids thee do ― Sir Richard Francis Burton “Do what thy manhood bids thee do,from none but self expect applause.He noblest lives and noblest dieswho makes and keeps his self-made laws. Sir Richard Francis Burton
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I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it In the friends of Voltaire hall, there is a quote which I believe expresses one of the fundamental principles of our society “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” and it is this freedom of speech and the ability to question that is the only effective defence against extremism. While everyone agrees in the freedom of speech very few…
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The BBC and Freedom of Thought We currently live in a world where the BBC showing a dramatisation of a speech by a British politician Enoch Powell and including commentary from others who have different viewpoints is meet with comments that the BBC is enabling racism and putting people at risk by airing this show. Firstly it is insulting that people believe that a documentary on a subject will cause the moral fabric of society to…
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Paved with good intentions The warning of good intentions Over the past month I have been involved in several discussions that have included the terrifying phrases: you can’t worry about that as this is the perfect solution. yes but we are good people, so that’s not a problem Now let me add a context every time I have heard these or similar statements they have come from people I trust and respect or at…
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Thoughts on Freedom of Speech and Views Recently the issues of freedom of beliefs have played a prominent part in conversations especially over the last few weeks both online and face to face. For the apparent simplicity is not a simple thing or something that everyone has reached agreement on.
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