Voltaire's comment - 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it' - is frequently quoted by defenders of free speech. Yet it is rare to find someone prepared to defend all freedom of speech, especially if the views expressed are obnoxious or obviously
false. So where do the limits lie? How important really is our right to freedom of speech?
Here, Nigel Warburton offers a concise guide to the important questions facing modern society about free speech: Should a civilized society set limits on the freedom of speech? How can we square
free speech with the sensitivities of religious and minority groups? Does copyright law clash with our right to free speech? And how have new technologies such as the Internet changed the debate?
This Very Short Introduction is a thought-provoking, accessible, and up-to-date examination
of the liberal assumption that free speech is worth preserving at any cost.
1. Free Speech
2. A Free Market in Ideas?
3. Giving and Taking Offence
4. Censoring Pornography
5. Free Speech in the Age of the Internet
6. Conclusion: The Future of Free Speech
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Nigel Warburton is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Open University. He is the author of numerous books, including the bestselling Philosophy: the Basics (4th ed.) which has sold approximately 100,000 copies and has been translated into a dozen languages, Thinking from A to Z (2nd ed),
Freedom: an Introduction with Readings, Philosophy: the Classics (3rd ed.), The Art Question, and many more. He teaches for the Tate Modern (including courses on the philosophy of art, and on photography) and regularly writes and broadcasts in the media on a range of topics.
