Letters on Liberty: risk, blasphemy and wellbeing
Our latest missives on freedom are now live. Join the authors at the Battle of Ideas festival in London this weekend.
Freedom - whether we have it or not - informs every aspect of our lives. Should we be allowed to say what we think about the big issues of the day - from religious or cultural differences to thorny political topics like immigration, gender or race? Should we be free to make our own decisions about how we want to live our lives, from eating ultra-processed foods to smoking, skydiving or any kind of risk? And should we be free to engage in intellectual life - reading, discussing and investigating ideas - without paternalistic checks and limits on our wellbeing?
These are just some of the questions posed by our latest Letters on Liberty, published this week by the Academy of Ideas.
When we first conceived of these pamphlets, deep in Lockdown and distraught at the closure of public life, the limits on our freedom seemed obvious, but few wanted to talk about it. In the five years since, discussion about liberty - and its limits - has grown. What has become clear in these confusing times is that we need to reckon with the core tenets of freedom - of speech, of association, of thought - and figure out how they apply to life in the twenty-first century.
With this challenge in mind, we’ve published Letters on everything from the freedom to box and push yourself physically, to the freedom to gamble, the freedom to lose yourself in literature, to enjoy sexual freedom and to create art free from orthodoxy. This week, we’ve published our latest Letters on the following:
RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY
In her Letter, author and broadcaster Timandra Harkness argues that our risk-averse society is stopping us from realising what real freedom means. Far from being irresponsible, she writes, taking risks is the only way to be a truly responsible adult. To live a life devoted to constraining uncertainty, minimising bad possibilities and maximising predictability is to live as a child. Rather than trying to prevent uncertainty, she argues, we need to take on the inherent risk that any worthwhile human enterprise entails, wholeheartedly, and with full acceptance of the moral responsibility that brings.
THE FREEDOM TO BLASPHEME
In his Letter, writer and curator Manick Govinda argues that blasphemy law has returned through the back door – with Islam, rather than Christianity, pointing the finger at heretics. From recent cases of attacks on free speech to the self-censorship of everyone from teachers to comedians, Manick argues that blasphemers are being persecuted and prosecuted across the world. While courtesy and kindness are valuable features of a free society, he writes, no religion or religious leader should be above criticism. Kowtowing to the offended, no matter how grievous the insult they may feel, weakens our liberty.
THE TYRANNY OF CAMPUS WELLBEING
In her Letter, writer and student Felice Basbøll argues that a focus on mental health and wellbeing is making us ill. The stressors that used to be considered inevitable parts of adult life are now seen as oppressive, she writes. Young people are assumed by everyone – themselves included – to be incapable of dealing with adversity. Rather than meet the difficulties that life might throw at them head on, she argues, the prioritisation of wellbeing means that disagreeable views must be censored, and harsh realities avoided. As a result, students and other young people are convincing themselves that they’re not able to handle real life.
OUR LETTERS ON LIBERTY DEBATES AT THE BATTLE OF IDEAS
What’s more, we’ll be discussing these issues and more at the BATTLE OF IDEAS FESTIVAL - THIS WEEKEND - along with our authors and special respondents. Get a print copy of our Letters signed by the authors and join in the discussion.
Letters on Liberty: AI – Separating Man from Machine
Saturday 18 October, 10:15—11:45
Join Sandy Starr and respondents to discuss how AI changes our perception of what it means to be human, how this is so often shaped by the creative process, and why AI is seen as such a threat. Is it that while the speed and ability of machines have their benefits, it distracts from the greater meaning of human creativity? Are there not greater possibilities of AI being used to further humanity, rather than to diminish it? Speakers include: Dr Shahrar Ali, Simon Cullen, Dr Patrik Schumacher, Sandy Starr, Leo Villa
Letters on Liberty: The Tyranny of Campus Wellbeing
Saturday 18 October, 12:15—13:30
Join Felice Basboll and respondents to discuss whether thinking about our wellbeing is good for us. While the destigmatisation of mental health has its benefits, is there a danger in blurring the lines between negative emotions and serious illness? Is wellbeing in danger of being weaponised as a means to censor views we don’t want to hear? And is it possible to push back when society’s priority seems to be feelings over action? Speakers include: Felice Basbøll, Dr Jennifer Cunningham, Maeve Halligan, Ed Rennie, Eloise Schultz
Letters on Liberty: Abortion and the Freedom to Forge Our Own Fate Saturday 18 October, 12:15—13:30
Join Ann Furedi and respondents to discuss whether such controversies and public qualms might undermine UK abortion rights. How does a decision to continue or end a pregnancy relate to a woman’s freedom to shape her own life? With abortion regulation in many US states as well as other countries becoming more restrictive, does this reflect public sentiment? If not, how should we make the case for bodily autonomy in the twenty-first century? Speakers include: Dr Piers Benn, Ann Furedi, Margo Martin, Jacob Phillips
Letters on Liberty: The Freedom to Blaspheme
Saturday 18 October, 14:45—16:15
Join Manick Govinda and respondents to discuss whether we should be free to criticise and mock religion. Is there a balance to be struck between tolerance of religious freedom and the right to publicly disagree with other people’s faith? Has the UK brought blasphemy law back to the statute books via the notion of ‘hate crime’? And after the stabbing of Salman Rushdie, the Charlie Hebdo massacre and other Islamist attempts to censor discussion of Islam, is the problem we’re dealing with a different idea of blasphemy to the days when the Life of Brian was banned? Speakers include: Dr Piers Benn, Manick Govinda, Khadija Khan, John O’Brien
THE BATTLE OF IDEAS FESTIVAL 2025
Conversations for the public, with the public, in public
Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 October
Church House & The Abbey Centre, Great Smith Street, Westminster, London
