Sticks and stones: the idea that words cause harm and the implications of this for higher education

The idea that speech is hateful and can cause harm is a relatively recent one that has implications for how students and faculty navigate contentious issues in the university classroom. This article traces some of the background to this development in the emergence of critical social justice ideas and the impact of these on faculty and on students. It illustrates the impact of this development by introducing a specific finding from a research study with social work students in Scotland that explored whether they felt reluctant to speak about particular subject matter. The research showed that 67% of students felt reluctant to speak about at least one contentious issue, the main reason being the perception that other students would criticise them. The second top reason, however, was that the students felt they might cause psychological or emotional harm to others in the class. Although on the surface, this may seem a benign and even caring response, the idea that engaging with views one disagrees with can cause harm, might in itself be deleterious to healthy emotional and mental functioning. Believing that words cause harm also erodes the healthy debate vital to the telos and proper functioning of a university.