The Journal of Controversial Ideas now has a Substack. We are republishing some articles there. (Our next issue is coming in November, and will be published on our main website.) jconideas.substack.com/

The latest issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas is now online. You can download and read all the papers for free here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

The latest issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas is now online. You can download and read all the papers for free here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

A special issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas on "Censorship in the Sciences" is now available online: journalofcontroversialideas.…. This issue brings together conference proceedings on the intersection of censorship, academic freedom, and scientific inquiry.

The latest issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas was published on the 30th of April. As always, you can download all the articles for free on our website: journalofcontroversialideas.…

I'm pleased to announce my new paper in @JConIdeas, "Holocaust Perpetrators and Unjust Combatants" which is available here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

Excited to announce my new publication in the Journal of Controversial Ideas: Enlightened Tribalism! Co-authored with @JonathanAnomaly and @CraigWilly06, this paper endorses tribalism as essential for virtues —challenging liberal cosmopolitanism. journalofcontroversialideas.…

Congratulations to Bradley Hillier-Smith, whose latest paper 'On What Matters for Obligations to Refugees' was just published in The Journal of Controversial Ideas.

The latest issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas is now online. You can download and read all the papers for free here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

Peter Singer discusses the Journal of Controversial Ideas (and much more) in an interview with Unherd unherd.com/watch-listen/50-y…

Discover provocative, but peer-reviewed, perspectives in the latest edition of the Journal of Controversial Ideas, featuring seven articles that challenge conventional wisdom. Topics range from the efficacy of affirmative action in medical education to the ethics of procreation. Authors discuss issues like gender identity, the roots of Islamist extremism, and perceptions of discrimination in healthcare. Each piece invites readers to rethink important questions, and lead to a deeper engagement with these critical issues than we find in most current discussions. Read more: journalofcontroversialideas.…

Should medical school admissions prioritize statistical predictors of success over demographic factors? Stephen Kershnar's recent article in the Journal of Controversial Ideas challenges the efficacy of affirmative action in medical education, arguing for a more data-driven approach to admissions. Kershnar suggests that focusing on factors that have been shown to be relevant to success could enhance the quality of medical services more effectively than current selection methods. Read the full critique here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

Tomás Bogardus and Alex Byrne subject Florence Ashley's theories on gender identity to critical analysis in the latest issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas. They argue Ashley's theories are neither coherent nor psychologically plausible, and ask what claiming an identity really means, and how it fits with our psychological framework and societal interactions? Read the full article here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

In the current issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas, Shane Satterley provides new insights into the roots of Islamist extremism among Muslim Australians. He draws on sociological data from a nationwide survey, explores how beliefs form among those with Islamist and Militant interpretations of Islam, and emphasizes the roles played by religious texts and daily practices. Read the full article here: journalofcontroversialideas.…

You can read the current issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas below. As usual, all the articles are open-access. Please consider making a donation to support our mission. journalofcontroversialideas.…

The next issue of the Journal of Controversial Ideas will be published on the 29th of April

In my latest piece for @ProSyn, "Will Cambridge Support Free Speech?" I explore the situation at the University of Cambridge concerning Nathan Cofnas and his views on “race realism.” As the university faces mounting protests, its dedication to free speech is under scrutiny. What will the university’s decision mean for academic freedom at esteemed institutions around the world? project-syndicate.org/commen…

Q: You posted an article indicating that sexual intercourse with animals is morally permissible. You've also in the past published a book arguing for veganism. That being the case, is it your official position that eating animals is not okay but having sex with them is? A: I didn't write the article on the permissibility of zoophilia. It was published in the Journal of Controversial Ideas, a journal that pushes back against "cancel culture" by providing an outlet for controversial ideas, which authors can publish under a pseudonym. I am a founding co-editor of that journal. The fact that we judge an article worthy of publication does not indicate that I or my co-editors agree with the views contained in it. We send articles submitted to us out for peer review, and if the reviewers consider that the article contains controversial ideas that are defended by argument of a sufficiently high standard to warrant publication, we publish the article. The Journal of Controversial Ideas is free and open access, for everyone to read. We rely on donations from supporters of freedom of thought and discussion to sustain it. You asked me whether it is my view that eating animals is not okay but having sex with them is. Here is one way of thinking about this question. Imagine that you are an animal locked up all of your life in a factory farm stall too narrow for you to even turn around, let alone walk a single step, so that you have nothing to do all day except stand up and lie down on a floor consisting of bare metal slats. Then you are crammed into a truck and driven for many hours to a place where you will be slaughtered. This is what happens to millions of pigs in the US today, and the lives of billions of other factory-farmed animals are no better. Now imagine that you are an animal living with a person who cares for you and loves you in all the ways that most people love their companion animals, but in addition, this person sometimes has sexual contact with you, making sure that the contact does not hurt you, and leaving you free to move away if you don't like it. You live out your natural lifespan like this, and when you get old and terminally ill and are in distress, the person who cares for you, full of sadness, takes you gently to a veterinarian who puts you to sleep. Which animal would you rather be?

Another thought-provoking article is "Zoophilia Is Morally Permissible" by Fira Bensto (pseudonym), which is just out in the current issue of @JConIdeas. This piece challenges one of society's strongest taboos and argues for the moral permissibility of some forms of sexual contact between humans and animals. This article offers a controversial perspective that calls for a serious and open discussion on animal ethics and sex ethics. Read and ponder: journalofcontroversialideas.… Art generated by Open AI’s DALL-E.

Just published: "Identity, Representation and the Canon in Classical Music" by F. K. Knights in @jconideas. Knights tackles accusations that classical music is elitist, sexist and racist. Read more here: journalofcontroversialideas.… Art generated by Open AI’s DALL-E.