The Social Structure of Civility and Incivility in the Liberal Academy

This commentary is an extensive response to Emily-Chamlee Wright’s essay, “Self-Censorship and Associational Life in the Liberal Academy.” Chamlee-Wright raises the important issue of how to steer between abrasion, a necessary condition for the production of knowledge, and civility and tolerance as defined in the classical liberalism of Adam Smith, also a necessary virtue in intellectual life. The essay posits the existence of a social structure of civility and incivility in contemporary academic life which is constituted by some of the existential conditions of the university, including hierarchical social relations, power differentials, and ideological homogeneity. The concept of “righteous incivility” as a moral duty under extreme conditions is entertained.