Article content

Two of North America’s leading moral thinkers are defending a University of B.C. philosophy student who has provoked a far-reaching clash over free speech.

Noted UBC philosophy professor Paul Russell and well-known American psychologist Jonathan Haidt believe some UBC academics are over-reacting to student Franz Kurtzke’s August distribution of flyers on campus.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Douglas Todd: Top moral thinkers defend free speech in UBC clash Back to video

Kurtzke, a fourth-year philosophy student, sent out 1,000 emails and distributed 500 flyers in which he criticized social-justice advocates for being over-protective and silencing people who have unorthodox ideas.

Outbursts of anger, fear and denunciations flared in response. “Shaking with rage. This is unacceptable,” one post-doctorate student wrote on Twitter.

“It is bad,” said a UBC literature professor. Many accused Kurtzke of belonging to the radical “alt-right.”

Russell, who obtained a $12-million grant from the Swedish Research Council to study moral responsibility, did not appreciate that senior faculty on campus clamped down on an undergraduate raising “legitimate” issues.