Independent scholarship is dangerous in era of mob rule – as the case of the professor who defended British Empire shows
But it is dangerous to be intellectually independent if we have to face into an academic mob driven by self-interest and personal ambition.
In a way, such a mob is the worst of all mobs.
For this reason I admire the stand taken by Nigel Biggar of Christ Church College, Oxford.
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Hide AdWe do not have to agree with his views on the British Empire.
But we must respect his right to defend and even promote them in a context of reasoned and civilised academic debate.
I urge Professor Biggar to be of good cheer and good courage.
If his scholarship is sound then his arguments will prevail –even if he himself does not.
Gerald Morgan, Dublin