Freedom Of Speech And Expression Philosophy Essay

Freedom Of Speech And feel Philosophy EssayCritically analyze the following statement, which is often attri merelyed to Voltaire I rule out of what you say, scarcely I will defend to the death your right to say it. All military personnels live in societies. In these societies rules of behavior atomic number 18 very all important(p) in order for people to treat their fellow human beings equally. These rules of behavior are comm simply called human rights. human beings Rights are universal and thus afford to all people on the rump of being human regardless sex, race, nationality, sexual orientation, policy-making opinion or any other status. As Michael Douglas give tongue to Human Rights for every unitary is the incumbent foundation upon which all of us may build a world where everybody may live in peace and serenity and plenty.In this course of paper we are going to examine the right to foresweardom of formula which has seized particular importance. This will be achieve d by discussing a famous source which is usually attributed to Voltaire I may disapprove of what you say but I will fight to death for your right to say it. Through this quotation we are going to see and take the importance of this valuable right in our societies. During our discussion we should always bear in judging that none of the fundamental emancipations, including freedom of expression, is absolute.Main BodyOrigin of the quotationTo start with, although there are more ancient precedents, freedom of expression as it is known today has its basis from the period of Enlightenment. One of the philosophers and political thinkers of that period was Voltaire, a French thinker, who look atd strongly in freedom of expression and was a significant contributor to Enlightenment movement. The wholesome known phrase I may disapprove of what you say but I will fight to death for your right to say it is widely attributed to him but it cannot be found in his writings. This can be easily understood since the phrase was firstly appeared in The friends of Voltaire written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall. Hall claimed that this phrase was an compendium of Voltaires attitude and that she has paraphrased Voltaires words Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too, in his essay of Tolerance.International standardsAs indicated in the introduction, the importance of the free expression as a basic and valuable characteristic of democratic society cannot be underestimated. As a result the schooling of international human rights system which serves as a frame encounter for freedom of expression is of particular interest. All major human rights treaties protect this right article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, article 19 of international covenant on civil and political rights, article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights.Freedom of Expression and its importanceAs we have seen I am utilize freedom of expression instead of freedom of deliverance since I view the latter as an umbrella that incorporates the former. Freedom of expression is wider since it includes any form of conference that is capable of conveying meaning. For specimen behinds including words it is used for pictures, images, sounds, non-verbal communication etc. As Michael Jackson said The meaning of life is contained in every superstar expression of life.In practice, freedom of expression serves galore(postnominal) functions which are cogitate to each other.First of all, a classic defense of the right to freedom of expression is the one that bathroom Stuart Mill argued On Liberty in 1859. He stated that nobody has the monopoly of truth.Anyone has the right to express their views and opinions because truth is not a monopoly term. If people disagree with minoritys opinion should use counter arguments and not suppression. As it was stated in Bose Corporation v Con brotherhooders U nion1freedom to speak ones mind is not only of individual liberty but also essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole. mainly in Europeans court of human rights case law, it has been made clear that freedom of expression is guaranteed not only with respect to popular and favorably receivable ideas or information, but also to those that offend shock or disturb.Furthermore, its vital role in ensuring democracy is undisputable and it has been recognized by scholars and judgments of international and national courts. For example In Handyside v UK2it was stated that freedom of expression in one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every man and woman. As Thomas Carlyle said Every human being has the right to bring out what other human beings have spoken to him. It is one of the Rights of Men a very cruel injustice if you deny it to a man. As it was also stated in Castells v Spain3it enables everyone to participate in political which is at the core of the concept of democratic society. Philosopher Alexander Meiklejohn argues that the concept of democracy is that of self government by the people. For such a system to work an conscious electorate and free flow of information and ideas is necessary. If citizens are able to exercise their rights effectively, their wishes would be taken into account and also tyranny, corruption and ineptitude would be restrained. This can only be achieved through open discussion, exchange of opinions in which citizens can have the opportunity to consider and debate alternative ideas. Freedom of expression is important at all levels in society but most important for government. A government which does not know how and what people feel and think is in flagitious position. When criticisms of the government are freely voiced, government has the opportunity to respond to those comments and explain its actions.Thi rdly, freedom of expression is an important aspect of an individuals self fulfillment which is a lovable objective. As we all know expression is tied up with humanity since what distinguishes us from animals is the ability that we have to communicate and express our feelings. So we can understand that all people must have the opportunity to express their views wrong or right, in order to explore and develop their own personal identity. otherwise we would not be able to be developed two morally and intellectually as individuals and this look like a restriction of our humanity.Summarizing all these, freedom of expression has two dimensions. It has the individual dimension of not to be prevented from manifesting ones own thinking, and the collective right to receive any information and to hear expression of anothers thought.4As we can understand protection of free expression is meaningless if it does not also extend to ideas and opinions that are generally not acceptable. When citiz ens are unable to let loose to each other, they will increasingly talk against each other, and thus will increasingly misunderstand and mistrust each other.5As we have seen in many cases of the European court of Human Rights it was said that defense of offensive opinions is one of the demands of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindness without which we can not talk about democratic society. Tolerance is constitutive(a) and a basic value in our societies. Protecting unpopular opinions is itself an act of tolerance. Also John Stuart Mill supported the idea that we must actively work against the tyranny of majority opinion. The fact that majority holds an opinion does not necessarily makes it to be true. For example, regarding decision-making we have to consider range of ideas, and a decision is likely to be better if it does not underestimate opinions, interests and needs of minority. Liberals like Voltaire encourage open verbal and written debate, free flow of arguments, free press, art etc. generally they support that only through open discourse we can learn from others and also encourage others to learn from us. If we not value toleration for unpopular opinions, consequently we reject our right to live in a tolerant society. As Nigel Warburton said commitment to free lecturing involves protecting the speech that you dont want to hear as well as the speech that you do. This means that is not decorous to express what you want but also not prevent others from doing so.Freedom of Expression and its limits (briefly)However its importance, right of expression may be subjected to some restrictions for respect of rights of other or other values. As Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes stated free speech does not allow one to shout Fire in a crowded theatre. By this he meant that good ideas are those which survive the criticisms and are allowed for boost development, in assembly line with bad ideas which do not survive criticisms at all.Limitations for freedom of express ion may follow the harm or the offence principle. John Stuart Mill introduced what is known as harm principle, stating that freedom of expression can be restricted in order to prevent harm to others. In contrast Joel Feinberg introduced offence principle, arguing that Mills harm principle does not provide sufficient protection against the wrongful behaviors of others. He suggested that some factors must be taken into account when applying his principle.Nowadays although the wording in article 10 paragraph 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights and article 19 paragraph 3 of international covenant on civil and political rights differs, the case law has proved that limitations to freedom of expression are relatively the same in both articles. Although both articles are important we are going just to see briefly the European taste. Restrictions can only be applied if they meet the three-part test made by ECtHR6. Thus they must be prescribed by law, serve a specific legitimate aim and also be necessary in a democratic society. When assessing the restrictions we must always bear in mind the test of proportionality and also each countrys margin of appreciation.ConclusionTo sum up all the above, we come to the conclusion that freedom of expression is important for the growth of our species. Our world is increasingly integrated, thus we have to be mature enough to understand that such integration comes with things that we may not want to see and with ideas, opinions and views that we may not like and may not want to hear. Based on the fact that freedom of expression is the most important ability of human beings, every person should have the right to express itself. As the Desmond Tutu retained the more we recognize people as people, the more we are recognized as people ourselves and vice versa the more we degrade other people, the more we vitiate ourselves further and further away from being fully human. Generally as what Noam Chomsky has stated in the twentie th century If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you dont like. Stalin and Hitler, for example, were dictators in favor of speech for views they liked only. If youre in favor of freedom of speech, that means youre in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise.7However we must know that although freedom of expression is a precious gift for people it must not exceeds its limits, thus why restrictions related to this right can be easily understood. After all the above analysis I would like to close, with the main theme of this paper I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.