Free Speech Fury: Virtue Ethics Behind the Anger
Anthropologist Matei Candea argues that free speech debates are not about rules but about character and virtue ethics. He identifies three archetypes of the free speaker: the rational citizen, the passionate rule-breaker (e.g., Andres Serrano's Piss Christ, climate activists 'souping' the Mona Lisa), and the brave truth-teller (e.g., Edward Snowden, Li Wenliang). Candea uses the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack as a case study, noting how his Facebook friends split between those defending the murdered cartoonists and those criticizing them as racist. He suggests that understanding free speech as a debate about virtues like sincerity, courage, and care explains why arguments feel personal and lead to fury. The article concludes that a robust commitment to free speech must be woven from multiple strands—reason, passion, and integrity.
Key facts
- Matei Candea is a professor at the University of Cambridge and author of 'Reason, Carnival and Honour: An Anthropology of Free Speech'.
- The 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack involved two al-Qaida members killing cartoonists over Muhammad cartoons.
- Candea's Facebook friends split: French childhood friends mourned the cartoonists; British and American academics worried about stigmatizing French Muslims.
- Three archetypes of the free speaker: rational citizen, passionate rule-breaker, brave truth-teller.
- Examples of rule-breakers: Andres Serrano's 'Piss Christ', climate activists 'souping' the Mona Lisa.
- Examples of truth-tellers: Edward Snowden, Li Wenliang.
- Salman Rushdie exemplifies all three archetypes simultaneously.
- The article recommends books: 'What Is Free Speech?' by Fara Dabhoiwala, 'The Righteous Mind' by Jonathan Haidt, 'The Enigma of Reason' by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber.
Entities
Artists
- Elia Barbieri
- Andres Serrano
- Salman Rushdie
Institutions
- al-Qaida
- Charlie Hebdo
- University of Cambridge
- Penguin
Locations
- France
- Paris
- United States
- Europe
- China