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Academic freedom is as important to society as it is to the academic community, University of Kansas professor Richard T. De George said in a speech Thursday at the Red Gym.
?Academic freedom is not, as is commonly thought, for the benefit of faculty, students, or even the greater university, but for the greater society,? De George said.
De George contrasted academic freedom with both the freedom of speech and the doctrine of dogmatic truth. This doctrine emphasizes teaching only known facts and leaving theories and speculation to only private discussions.
According to De George, academic freedom is comprised of three parts at its most important level, which is the university level. He said those three components are the autonomy of the university, freedom of the faculty to research and present their research, and freedom of the students to learn.
Academic freedom allows for members of the university to speak out about their ideas and criticisms, as opposed to the freedom of speech, which cannot always be applied in private sector institutions, such as business and private universities, De George said.
He added in these instances it is at the discretion of the business or university to say what is allowed to be discussed while at work.
De George encouraged his audience to question his presentation and to disagree.
Students in the audience raised significant questions about what should be expected from university faculty who are allowed academic freedom and who should hold them accountable. Students questioned the amount of freedom appropriate for professors in lectures.
Lester Hunt, UW philosophy professor and former president of the Wisconsin Association of Scholars, the group that sponsored the event, raised a question to which many students responded.
?Is the importance autonomy of the university, or autonomy of the discipline being taught?? Hunt asked.
De George said the university must be responsible for not letting outside sources such as the government, media or alumni dictate what can be taught and said by faculty.
He added the extent of academic freedom has not been addressed by most universities, but must be addressed if it is to be utilized.
De George said the general public has received a skewed image of academic freedom from the government and media.
One student asked if researchers in a field unaffiliated with the university have the right to correct teachers in the field, if they themselves are not teaching.
De George said it is the obligation of researchers not teaching, as well as those who are, to present their findings in print so that others in the field can keep up on the material and teach the new findings.
He added student freedom is also important, as a student does not have to believe the information they are presented with, but rather must know the argument and be able to think critically about it.