APA
Committee for the Defense of
Professional Rights of Philosophers
History
APA Committee
for the
Defense of Professional
Rights of Philosophers
History of the Committee
Formation of the Defense Committee
APA Bulletin
1 (June 1970), pp. 3-4:
Academic
Freedom. The freedom and the right of scholars and teachers in general,
and philosophers in particular, to practice their profession is one
that must be guarded at all times. There are some times, however-and
now seems to be such a time-, when the defense of this right and this
freedom assumes special importance.
There have
during the last few months been a number of cases in which decisions
not to reappoint non-tenured teachers of philosophy or to terminate
the contracts of tenured ones have been made, or threatened, or seriously
considered, and in which it has been alleged that the action or the
threatened action has been dictated by considerations not allowable
according to the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and
Tenure issued jointly by the Association of American Colleges and the
American Association of University Professors, and subscribed to by
the three divisions of this Association. The considerations have, in
all these cases, been political: membership in a political party, participation
in political movements, protests, demonstrations, and so on.
In the
most widely known of these cases, the case of Professor Angela Davis,
there can be no doubt of the truth of the allegations: so much has been
admitted by the regents of the University of California. In most of
the cases a painstaking inquiry would be needed before the real basis
for the action or the threatened action could be reliably identified.
The number of such incidents seems to be increasing, and the claims
and counter-claims have in some cases resulted in repressive measures
of a more general kind: in the case mentioned the regents appear to
have taken away from the faculty and the administration responsibility
for questions of appointment and dismissal.
Concern
over these cases, and over the trend of which they appear to be symptomatic,
led to a disruption last March of the meetings of the Pacific Division
in Berkeley. The result of the ensuing discussion was a resolution to
put to a mail ballot of the Pacific Division a number of proposals,
including a tax on members' salaries in order to assist philosophers
deprived of their income for reasons unrelated to professional competence
or professional responsibility. In the mail ballot each of the proposals
was defeated by a wide margin (slightly greater than two to one for
the major proposals)-though not as wide as might have been expected
in view of the drastic change in the nature of the APA that would have
resulted had the outcome been different.
The Board
of Officers deemed the circumstances serious enough to warrant a special
meeting; this was held in St. Louis last month, at the time of the meetings
there or the Western Division. (We were fortunate to have present at
that meeting William J. Kilgore, an Association member, a member of
Committee A, on Academic Freedom and Tenure, of the AAUP, and Second
Vice-President of the AAUP.) The Board had responded last fall to the
Angela Davis case by sending to the regents of the University of California
a statement protesting their actions, but it was now thought that more
sustained attention to questions of professional rights is required
of the Association than the Board itself is able to provide.
Accordingly,
a committee on the defense of the professional rights of philosophers
against current threats was established. The committee, not yet fully
formed, was given the following charge: It "shall receive information
pertaining to situations involving such threats, and shall also receive
complaints from individuals or departments. It shall make recommendations
to the Board of Officers concerning policies to be followed in defending
those rights, and concerning actions to be taken in such specific cases
as may be appropriate. It shall also maintain liaison with the AAUP,
and with similar committees in philosophy and in other academic disciplines."
It is anticipated that the committee will help facilitate the utilization
by philosophers of the resources of the AAUP, and will inform institutions
or departments, in cases coming to its attention, that it has an interest
in the case and would like to be informed concerning it.
It would
be pleasant to believe that occasions requiring the services of this
committee will be so infrequent as to make the demands on the time of
its members negligible. Indications are, however, that the committee
will be a busy one. Already, a case has been referred to the Board by
one of the divisions, involving the threatened dismissal of a tenured
member of a philosophy department, contrary to the recommendations of
two faculty committees and allegedly on the ground of political activity
by the philosopher. When the formation of the APA committee has been
completed, cases of this sort will be referred to it; meanwhile, in
order to deal promptly with the case in question, the Board itself has
notified the president of the university of its interest in the case
and requested that it be kept informed.
APA Bulletin
2 (November 1970), p. 7:
Special
Committee on the Defense of Professional Rights. The Committee on Defense
of Professional Rights is the special committee established by the Board
last May, under circumstances also described in Bulletin No. 1. Its
Chairman, Edmund L. Pincoffs, reports:
The Committee
on Defense of Professional Rights is now fully constituted and in operation.
The members are David Kaplan (UCLA), John Rawls (Harvard), Rolf Sartorius
(Minnesota), Judith Thomson (M.I.T.), and the undersigned. Alan Pasch,
APA Executive Secretary, serves ex officio.
The Committee
was appointed primarily to receive information concerning threats to
academic freedom of individuals or departments; and to advise the Board
of Officers of the Association concerning policies to be followed in
defending academic freedom, and concerning action to be taken in particular
cases. We maintain close liaison with AAUP by proposing new cases to
them, and by keeping in touch with them concerning cases already under
scrutiny. Messrs. Pincoffs and Pasch attended a meeting held at AAUP
headquarters in July for representatives of scholarly associations which
have appointed similar committees. The Political Scientists, Sociologists,
and Historians were also represented.
As a Committee,
we want to be informed of violations of the academic freedom of philosophers.
Letters should be addressed to the undersigned c/o Dept. of Philosophy,
Univ. of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712. In case of emergency, call AAUP
in Washington, (202)466-8050, and let us know abut the case when you
have time.
We are
all well aware that there are conceptual and justificational problems
with respect to academic freedom, and we want to do what we can to encourage
discussion of them by philosophers. Reprints of articles, or bibliographical
references, would be most welcome.
Edmund L. Pincoffs
Chairman
Proceedings
and Addresses of the APA 44 (1970-71), pp. 84-85:
4. Resolutions
adopted at the business meeting of December 28, 1970. The following
resolutions, adopted at the Association business meeting held a day
earlier, were transmitted to the Board without recommendation by the
executive committee of the Eastern Division.
a. A resolution
to send observers to the trial of Angela Davis, and to report to the
1971 eastern business meeting. (See minutes of the 1970 eastern business
meeting below, p. 165.) The Board referred this resolution to the Committee
on the Defense of Professional Rights; it will be discussed with the
chairman of the committee at the appropriate place on the agenda. (See
item 11c.) …
d. A five-part
resolution concerned with violation of academic freedom, the surplus
of qualified applicants for teaching positions, and the possible connection
between the two. (See p. 165 below.) Acting on the advice of the Secretary
Treasurer of the Eastern Division, the Board referred the first and
second parts of this resolution to the Committee on the Defense of Professional
Rights, and the third, fourth, and fifth parts to the Committee on the
Status and Future of the Profession.
Proceedings
and Addresses of the APA 44 (1970-71), pp. 89-91:
Second
Session of the Meeting: December 30, 9:00 A.M. The same members who
were present at the first session; in addition, Edmund Pincoffs attended
(without vote) at the invitation of the Board.
11. Committee
on the Defense of Professional Rights
a. Edmond
Pincoffs conveyed to the Board a suggestion from the committee, that
the most serious allegations of infringements of the professional rights
of philosophers be publicized, possibly through the Bulletin, along
with replies by appropriate officers of the institutions complained
against. The Board's response to this suggestion was mainly favorable,
but it was accompanied by worry about the liability of the Association.
Pincoffs was asked to consult with legal advisers of the AAUP, and Pasch
was asked to investigate the question of insurance against libel suits.
Provided that no considerations emerged which suggested strongly that
it would be unsafe or improper, Pincoffs was empowered to implement
the committee's suggestion. It was Mandelbaum's opinion that the Bulletin
should not be used for this purpose.
b. The
question of funding, for this and other activities of the committee,
was discussed. Vlastos suggested a special appeal to APA members for
funds to be earmarked for the committee, and it was decided that such
funds should be raised, but that this should not be done until the tax
status of the Association and the deductibility of these contributions
is determined.
c. The
resolution adopted at the business meeting of December 28, to send observers
to the trial of Angela Davis, was discussed. Without accepting the language
of the resolution, the Board agreed that if suitable persons could be
found they be designated to attend the trial in this capacity. Though
this action falls well outside the charge to the committee on professional
rights, the Board asked the committee to assist it by recommending suitable
observers.
d. Pincoffs
conveyed to the Board a second suggestion from the committee: that some
way be found to provide placement assistance to philosophers needing
it because of what appeared to the committee prima facie to be violations
of the professional rights of those philosophers. One way of providing
such assistance would be to send the names of such philosophers to departments
listing vacancies. Another would be to file their names with the National
Registry for Philosophers for visiting appointments. A third would be
to place in the files of such philosophers a "clearance" document.
Serious defects were found in all these suggestions, and for lack of
a reasonable procedure free of deleterious side-effects the committee's
proposal was dropped.
e. The
Board agreed that the committee should cooperate with comparable committees
of other learned societies on questions involving the nature and protection
of academic freedom, as it had by attendance by Pincoffs and Pasch at
a conference arranged by the AAUP in July 1970.
The Defense
Committee's First Decade…
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