|
|
In this chapter, we review evidence and examples reflecting an embrace of modern manifestations of book burning among academics. We use the term “book burning” as did Bradbury: both descriptively and metaphorically to include burning of actual books, but, especially within academia, to calls to retract, remove, and memory-hole published papers. In the present chapter, we focus on factors that have undergirded book burning for thousands of years: a sense of righteous victimization and a desire by the book burners to impose their values and norms on others. This chapter contains three main sections. The first reviews some of the common manifestations of tribal or politically sectarian psychology. The second reviews evidence regarding equalitarianism, a form of extreme egalitarianism (Winegard & Winegard, 2018) on the political far left, which likely drives much of the support for book burning among academics. The final section reviews both scientific evidence and real world events involving academic tribal demonization and book burning.
Professor at George Washington University
I am a Professor with Human-Technology Collaboration and Educational Technology programs at George Washington University in Washington DC. I have written 12 books and more than 100 articles, and I co-host of the Parsing Science podcast where scientists tell the stories behind their research. I am also the developer of the WeShareScience.com online platform for sharing research videos, and SciencePods.com where researchers can create free podcasts about their science. My research interests include human interactions with intelligent machines, needs, needs assessments, and instructional design.
Latest posts by Ryan Watkins (see all)
- Risks and Opportunities of Open-Source Generative AI - May 15, 2024
- Is that a Guideline? Addressing Learning in Ethics Guidelines - May 10, 2024
- The Hazards of Putting Ethics on Autopilot - May 9, 2024