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Words lose their meaning at Wilfrid Laurier University

Dec 13, 2017
David M. Haskell

Orwell: beware any person or group that redefines words so that they no longer align with facts, common sense, and common usage.

As one of a small group of professors pushing for maximum freedom of expression and inquiry at my university, I’ve been personally frustrated by my colleagues who claim that some topics are “not up for debate” and that censorship is required when a counter-argument offends the feelings of certain individuals or groups.


However, professionally, as a researcher in the area of communication, I’ve been fascinated by the way my university’s free expression opponents provide a vivid illustration of Orwell’s theory of political language. 

The complete article is available at the Quillette.

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