Stevens Blog Post 7

 After establishing that lying and deception undermine epistemic certainty and inhibit our ability to engage in cooperative moral relations, Seana Shriffin turns to the issue of free speech. She starts by noting that the prohibitions on lying and deception do little on their own; additionally they must “serve as background complements within an environment that permits and encourages freedom of thought and communication.” (Shiffrin 80). This environment plays a crucial role in the development of the mind and the communication of moral duties necessary to govern.

 

Shriffin emphasizes a speaker-based approach to freedom of speech, which considers the interests of individuals as thinkers with rational, emotional, moral, and perceptual capacities (and more). The exercise and possession of those capacities make as who we are, our identity. Free speech is necessary for the realization of those capacities. To fully develop as rational beings we must be able to express the contents of our mind and learn from the content of others. Shiffrin compares the mind without free speech to a prisoner in solitary confinement; without interaction the mind’s capacities can deteriorate (or fail to develop).

 

While I agree with Shiffrin that some level of free speech is crucial for mental development, I wonder if there is such a thing as too much interaction. Specifically, I am thinking of the role social media and polarization plays today as an expression of free speech. In the past, when the number of perspectives in news media were limited but still diverse, the mind’s need to escape solitary confinement forced individuals to interact with a wide range of views. Now, social media has given us more options, but it seems that when we have access to the contents of nearly infinite minds, we prefer to only seek out the opinions and, even worse, the facts that confirm our preferred narrative. The resulting polarization and partisanship seem to hinder full mental development and inhibit the establishment of moral and political cooperation. From a thinker-based approach, do the tools (or weapons?) of social media undermine mental and moral development of individuals --- the initial goals of free speech?

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