Universities need a more explicit and appreciative promotion of academic freedom.
Policies and discussion of academic freedom tend to be problem-oriented and defensive. They focus on harms, difficulties, and risks more than on the positive values and benefits that give freedom its raison d'être. Must we see freedom solely in these negative terms, mainly as an eternal struggle against obstructions? Or could we promote and celebrate freedom in more proactive and appreciative ways – spreading stronger awareness of the many intrinsic and instrumental benefits of an academic culture in which curiosity, considerate debate, and open-mindedness flourish? This paper is an invitation to consider more carefully these more aspirational approaches, with particular reference to the development of universities in Scotland. Drawing on both adverse and positive experiences, it highlights the importance of nurturing a campus climate of shared curiosity. Noting that some of the threats to academic freedom come from self-censorship and from silences and avoidances rather than from visible and active threats, and hence are elusive and hard to address, I argue for more explicit and appreciative promotion of academic freedom, and for more careful attention to the kinds of culture in which it flourishes.