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 …
Why Frances Widdowson Matters
Frances Widdowson probably isn’t someone most Canadians recognize. I’m here to tell you why they should. In terms of Canada’s intellectual culture, Frances Widdowson matters because she is a classic and prolific academic. In a time when demagoguery easily flourishes, …
By Keeping Draconian Pandemic Rules in Place, Universities Are Signalling Their Out-of-Touch Elitism
Proof of vaccination is required for students who want to live in residence at the University of Toronto. No, this wasn’t cut-and-paste from a 2021 article—it’s an actual requirement for the fall of 2022. Anyone who plans to live in …
A Message to My Students on Expression in the Classroom
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. …
Why 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 …
MEDIA RELEASE – New Frontier Centre Book Calls on Universities to be Dangerous
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 …
Against the Scarborough Charter
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 …
Students Against Mandates: Response to Manning’s “Report of the COVID Commission”
Over the last two years, Canadians have been told to “trust the science” without raising a question. Despite reasonable concerns, the evidence from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s randomized controlled trials (RCT) showed that for every 103 deaths in the “vaccinated” group …
The Importance of Diversity
Recent American studies have revealed a striking lack of variation in political views among the nation’s university professors. For example, 85% of academics teaching political science rated themselves as left of centre; only 10% considered themselves to be in the …
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