Why Is Stanley Fish Convinced That Freedom of Speech Is Not a Universal Principle - Assignment Example

The paper "Why Is Stanley Fish Convinced That Freedom of Speech Is Not a Universal Principle" is a great example of a finance and accounting assignment. For those of us living in the 21st century, the concept of freedom of speech is taken for granted. This is not to say that all people in all countries enjoy this freedom but those in countries where there is no freedom of speech often lament their conditions, dreaming of the day when they will be free to express themselves as their counterparts in some of the countries that recognize this fundamental “right.” When Stanley Fish, therefore, says that “freedom of speech” is not a universal principle, it raises the hackles of those who love the freedom of speech. They wonder why such a respected individual will make such a politically incorrect comment and castigate him for setting the movement towards freedom of speech back. But such individuals would simply not have paid good attention to what Stanley Fish is saying. Although freedom of speech is an ideal towards which many people and societies strive it is true, as Stanley Fish, says, that it is not universal and that it is a notion that we are trying to make universal.

Chapter One

No such thing as freedom of speech explained

In an interview, Stanley Fish clarified his remarks for those who have misconstrued it to mean that he does not like freedom of speech. As he explains, many people who take on the issue of freedom of speech take as their starting point that it is normal for people to talk, just for the sake of expressing themselves. This stands to reason that people should be able to make whatever utterances they deem fit and share their opinions, as might be the case in a seminar. The freedom to express oneself in a seminar and to listen to the opinions of others, however, is far from being the norm. It is a special creative forum that serves mostly the academic community. In most other areas of human social endeavour, this is not normal. According to Stanley Fish, therefore, the seminar type of free expression is not the norm but a deviation from the norm.