http://joannenova.com.au/2019/04/peter-ridd-wins-on-all-counts-against-james-cook-uni/
Justice! Prof Peter Ridd wins on all counts against James Cook Uni
The full legal judgement.
296.
To use the vernacular, the University has “played the man and not the ball”. Incredibly, the University has not understood the whole concept Ridd v James Cook University [2019] FCCA 997 Reasons for Judgment: Page 72 of intellectual freedom. In the search for truth, it is an unfortunate consequence that some people may feel denigrated, offended, hurt or upset. It may not always be possible to act collegiately when diametrically opposed views clash in the search for truth.
302.
That is why intellectual freedom is so important. It allows academics to express their opinions without fear of reprisals. It allows a Charles Darwin to break free of the constraints of creationism. It allows an Albert Einstein to break free of the constraints of Newtonian physics. It allows the human race to question conventional wisdom in the neverending search for knowledge and truth. And that, at its core, is what higher learning is about. To suggest otherwise is to ignore why universities were created and why critically focussed academics remain central to all that university teaching claims to offer.
Justice! Prof Peter Ridd wins on all counts against James Cook Uni
The full legal judgement.
296.
To use the vernacular, the University has “played the man and not the ball”. Incredibly, the University has not understood the whole concept Ridd v James Cook University [2019] FCCA 997 Reasons for Judgment: Page 72 of intellectual freedom. In the search for truth, it is an unfortunate consequence that some people may feel denigrated, offended, hurt or upset. It may not always be possible to act collegiately when diametrically opposed views clash in the search for truth.
302.
That is why intellectual freedom is so important. It allows academics to express their opinions without fear of reprisals. It allows a Charles Darwin to break free of the constraints of creationism. It allows an Albert Einstein to break free of the constraints of Newtonian physics. It allows the human race to question conventional wisdom in the neverending search for knowledge and truth. And that, at its core, is what higher learning is about. To suggest otherwise is to ignore why universities were created and why critically focussed academics remain central to all that university teaching claims to offer.
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