Independent thinkers believe what they do on the basis of evidence and argument and not as a result of psychological or social pressure. One way in which Critical Thinking courses help students to become independent thinkers is by making the analysis and evaluation of...
Students might naively think that because they are at a university, they are free from the threat of official sanction to express their beliefs, ideas and emotions during classroom discussions; in this essay, I warn that, sadly, they are not. University...
In this essay, I explain that young people should come to university to be educated, and not to become credentialed; the public should support universities because universities educate young people, not because they produce credentialled workers. Why should a...
A Collection of Sharp and Insightful Challenges to Higher Education in Canada WINNIPEG, August 4, 2022 – The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has just published In Praise of Dangerous Universities and Other Essays, by philosophy professor Mark Mercer. Universities...
A Snapshot of Property Rights Protection in Canada After 10 years
The writ has been dropped and Albertans are off to the polls on May 29. That leaves just four weeks for political leaders and voters to sort out what is arguably the most divisive, yet significant, issue for this election - health care. On Day 2, NDP leader Rachel...
Over 50 colleges and universities in Canada have now signed the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion. This is unfortunate, as the Charter is a profoundly anti-academic document. That so many institutions signed it does not bode well for higher...
In this book, philosophy professor Mark Mercer articulates a conception of the academic mission of universities as dispassionate inquiry.