Free Speech and Human Dignity

Steven J. Heyman

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9780300148220
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Droit
• Subtopic: Droits civiques en droit

Debates over hate speech, pornography, and other sorts of controversial speech raise issues that go to the core of the First Amendment. Supporters of regulation argue that these forms of expression cause serious injury to individuals and groups, assaulting their dignity as human beings and citizens. Civil libertarians respond that our commitment to free speech is measured by our willingness to protect it, even when it causes harm or offends our deepest values.

In this important book, Steven J. Heyman presents a theory of the First Amendment that seeks to overcome the conflict between free speech and human dignity. This liberal humanist theory recognizes a strong right to freedom of expression while also providing protection against the most serious forms of assaultive speech. Heyman then uses the theory to illuminate a wide range of contemporary disputes, from flag burning and antiabortion demonstrations to pornography and hate speech.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I. History
• 1. Free Speech and the Natural Rights Tradition
• 2. The Transformation of Free Speech Jurisprudence
• Part II. A Rights-Based Theory of the First Amendment
• 3. The Basic Approach
• 4. Free Speech in a Framework of Rights
• 5. Conflicts of Rights
• 6. Content Neutrality and the First Amendment
• Part III. Contemporary Controversies
• 7. Contemporary Controversies
• 8. Speech and Violence
• 9. Speech and Privacy
• 10. Hate Speech
• 11. Pornography
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• Notes
• Index