Free Expression: Essays in Law and Philosophy

This collection of essays originated at a conference on freedom of expression held at McMaster University in 1990. Its contributors are philosophers and lawyers who each bring a unique perspective to bear on issues surrounding the justification of free expression and the bases, both legal and moral, for restricting or broadening its scope. Joseph Magnet, Wayne Sumner, and James Weinstein discuss legal attempts in America and Canada to restrict hate literature. David Richards brings a specifically American perspective to wider issues of free speech. Joseph Raz and Jan Narveson ground their theories of free speech in a wider political theory, while Leslie Green and Roger Shiner discuss more specific aspects of free expression, namely, the freedom to express oneself in the language of one's choice and freedom of commercial expression.