Freedom of expression in the digital age: a historian's perspective

This essay surveys the history of freedom of expression from classical antiquity to the present. It contends that a principled defense of free expression dates to the seventeenth century, when it was championed by the political theorist John Locke. Free expression for Locke was closely linked with r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Church, Communication and Culture
Main Author: John, Richard R. 1959- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis [2019]
In: Church, Communication and Culture
IxTheo Classification:CD Christianity and Culture
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KDB Roman Catholic Church
RH Evangelization; Christian media
Further subjects:B Alexis de Tocqueville
B freedom of expression
B John Stuart Mill
B Social media
B John Locke
B Oliver Wendell Holmes
B Censorship
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This essay surveys the history of freedom of expression from classical antiquity to the present. It contends that a principled defense of free expression dates to the seventeenth century, when it was championed by the political theorist John Locke. Free expression for Locke was closely linked with religious toleration, a relationship that has led in our own day to a principled defense of pluralism as a civic ideal. For the past several hundred years, the domain within which free expression has flourished has been subject not only to spatial boundaries and temporal limits, but also to political regulation and social control. The essay concludes by underscoring the challenge to traditional conceptions of free expression that are posed today by social media platforms.
ISSN:2375-3242
Contains:Enthalten in: Church, Communication and Culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/23753234.2019.1565918