'Academic Freedom' By Fr. Roy Cimagala (Cebu) Wednesday, August 29, 2012 02:17:33 PM

'Academic Freedom' By Fr. Roy Cimagala (Cebu) Wednesday, August 29, 2012 02:17:33 PM

ITS a hot, controversial issue, this thing about academic freedom. And its understandable because what is involved is something very intimate to a person working in an academic community.

Ideas, theories, views, opinions are so personal that anything that would tend to obstruct them can be very painful. Everything has to be done to avoid such predicament, therefore.

And so, I somehow understand why this academic freedom can be defined in its extreme form, as Wikipedia would have it, as:

The belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts (including those that are inconvenient to external political groups or to authorities) without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.

Some parties involved in this issue have even gone to the extent of describing academic freedom, again taking from Wikipedia, as having the following properties: a) Academics, both inside and outside the classroom, have unrestricted liberty to question and test received wisdom and to put forward controversial and unpopular opinions, whether or not these are deemed offensive, and, b) Academic institutions have no right to curb the exercise of this freedom by members of their staff, or to use it as grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal.

Still, while I and any decent man would respect such freedom, I also could not help to point out that such take on academic freedom is one-sided and is oblivious and quite nave of other factors and conditions that need to be taken into consideration also.

This extreme form of academic freedom has to contend also with the rights of the other parties involved. And more basic to the issue would be that some structure be made in the academic community where a healthy exchange of views could be done, and clear guidelines have to be made.

The dynamics of this exchange of ideas should be closely monitored and managed, otherwise there would be chaos and confusion. And rules of the game should be clearly spelled out for this.

Thing is we cannot deny the fact that academic communities have their basic constitution that, no matter how imperfect it is, should be respected and upheld, unless legitimately revised.

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'Academic Freedom' By Fr. Roy Cimagala (Cebu) Wednesday, August 29, 2012 02:17:33 PM