Re: Slater's book

[Christopher D. Green]

Stephen Black wrote: Stephen Black wrote: Do (allegedly) bad books which attract controversy deserve a place in a university library? to which Chris Green reasonably replied: here is an historical case to be made for such books. [...]_Protocols of the Elders of Zion_ [...]_Mein Kampf_. As for Slater's book, the answer to the question of whether it belongs in the library depends on whether it gains a following and citations. Yes, certainly, I would want it in the library for my own use. [...] I'm thinking more of the poor, ignorant, impressionable, unwary undergraduate who might stumble upon it without benefit of a prepared mind. Well, how do we "prepare" such as mind? By letting it encounter material about which it must be critical (and perhaps helping it along with discusison and the occasional warning. The alternative is to create of "codex" of "unacceptable" reading material, much like the very institutions we ("freethinkers") like to differentiate ourselves from. Regards, -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 416-736-5115 ext. 66164 fax: 416-736-5814 http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ============================ . --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]