The trouble arose from his appearance on the excellent Brain in a Vat philosophy show, where he discussed various sexual taboos and their moral justifications but did not advocate violating any of them. It has now led the clueless Fredonia President to announce there will be an "investigation." I gather F.I.R.E. has already offered to help Professor Kershnar, a philosopher who frequently defends contrarian views on a range of applied ethics questions. (Update: The podcasts is still available here, for those who would like to hear the actual interview, rather than the media distortions of it.)
UPDATE: A strong letter from the AFA to SUNY-Fredonia.
ANOTHER: The Fredonia President is now asking to be sued by Pofessor Kershnar; the President's latest message to the community below the fold:
I am writing to provide you with an update on the matter involving one of our professors interviewed in a widely shared video podcast. We will continue to investigate this situation. In the meantime, effective immediately and until further notice, the professor is being assigned to duties that do not include his physical presence on campus and will not have contact with students while the investigation is ongoing.
Please allow me to reiterate my earlier statement that I view the content of the video as absolutely abhorrent. I cannot stress strongly enough that the independent viewpoints of this individual professor are in no way representative of the values of the SUNY Fredonia campus.
I appreciate your patience as we make every effort to resolve this matter as expeditiously as possible.
Sincerely,
Stephen H. Kolison, Jr. Ph.D.
President and Professor
I'm not sure Kolison's lack of understanding of the First Amendment and academic freedom rises to the level of being "abhorrent," but he is certainly incompetent at his job. I was struck by the fact that he signs off as a "Ph.D.," which actual scholars don't do. The Ph.D. is in Forest Economics. I'm sure that is a worthy topic of study, but it does not seem to have provided him with much understanding of the values of the academy. (The Brain in a Vat hosts have a better understanding.)
2/4/22 UPDATE: I'm pleased to see other philosophy blogs coming to the defense of Professor Kershnar's First Amendment and academic freedom rights; the latter usefully summarizes Kershnar's actual views:
- There are good reasons to think that adult-child sex should be illegal.
- Consequentialist moral theories can provide an explanation for the wrongness of adult-child sex that is harmful, and while “when both participants are willing, the risk of long term harm is unclear,” at least “in some cases (for example, force, genital contact, and father figures) there is risk of significant harm.” “Child rape and incest both… are extremely harmful.”
- On non-consequentialist moral theories, the moral status of adult-child sex is unclear.
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