Quotes that have touched me (page 16 of 16) Disclaimer: Citation of a quote, below, does not necessarily imply that I agree with what it asserts (under whatever interpretation); it does mean I feel the text says something seriously worth thinking about. "Every sentence that I utter should be regarded by you not as an assertion but as a question." --Niels Bohr "There is more to the surface than meets the eye." --Aaron Beck Date Text Source    [Index] 27Aug06  [268] Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has said he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would lead to such a war. "Had we known that the kidnapping of the soldiers would have led to this, we would definitely not have done it," he said in an interview on Lebanese TV.... More than 1,000 Lebanese died in the 34-day conflict which left much of southern Lebanon in ruins. "Nasrallah sorry for scale of war", BBC online; Last Updated: 27Aug06, 18:28 GMT. 23Jul06  [267] KEVIN BARRETT, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin... acknowledged on a radio talk show that he has shared with students his strong conviction that the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job perpetrated by the American government. The predictable uproar ensued, and the equally predictable battle lines were drawn between those who disagree about what the doctrine of academic freedom does and does not allow. Mr. Barrett's critics argue that academic freedom has limits and should not be invoked to justify the dissemination of lies and fantasies. Mr. Barrett's supporters (most of whom are not partisans of his conspiracy theory) insist that it is the very point of an academic institution to entertain all points of view, however unpopular. (This was the position taken by the university's provost, Patrick Farrell, when he ruled on July 10 that Mr. Barrett would be retained: "We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas.") Both sides get it wrong.... [A]cademic freedom has nothing to do with content. It is not a subset of the general freedom of Americans to say anything they like (so long as it is not an incitement to violence or is treasonous or libelous). Rather, academic freedom is the freedom of academics to study anything they like.... [T]he number of viewpoints Mr. Barrett presents to his students is not the measure of his responsibility. There is, in fact, no academic requirement to include more than one view of an academic issue, although it is usually pedagogically useful to do so. The true requirement is that no matter how many (or few) views are presented to the students, they should be offered as objects of analysis rather than as candidates for allegiance. Stanley Fish, Prof. of Law, Florida International Univ., "Conspiracy Theories 101", Op-Ed Piece, NYT, 23Jul06, p.WK13. Prof Fish continues: "Thus the question Provost Farrell should put to Mr. Barrett is not 'Do you hold these views?' (he can hold any views he likes) or 'Do you proclaim them in public?' (he has that right no less that the rest of us) or even 'Do you surround them with the views of others?' Rather, the question should be: 'Do you separate yourself from your partisan identity when you are in the employ of the citizens of Wisconsin and teach subject matter --- whatever it is --- rather than urge political action?' If the answer is yes, allowing Mr. Barrett to remain in the classroom is warranted. If the answer is no... he should be shown the door. Not because he would be teaching the 'wrong' things, but because he would have abandoned teaching for indoctrination." Ed. notes: (1) See Neils Bohr quote at top of this page. (2) Consider the quote I like: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thes. 5:21) (3) See some of my thoughts on Education and Training.   [Index]  Go to earlier entries If you've read this far, and it has brought to your mind some quote which is significant to you, I'd appreciate if you'd share it with me: bradmcc@cloud9.net

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[The New York Times logo used with permission of the publisher.] http://www.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/quotes13.html Copyright © 2006 Brad McCormick, Ed.D. bradmcc@cloud9.net 01 September 2006CE (2006-09-01 ISO 8601) v01.06