Abstract

The phenomenon of self-censorship is even more widespread than the censorship itself. The most immediate reason for self-censorship practiced by authors is the simple fact that these authors are afraid of the unpleasant consequences of what they are writing, painting, or otherwise communicating. This is true especially for authors living under authoritarian regimes. However, more interesting are the cases when people practice self-censorship because they are afraid to hurt the feelings of others, for example, the feelings of religious people. But what does it mean to hurt the feelings of believers? Do believers have some specific feelings that are different from those of nonbelievers? I would argue that, yes, the believers have certain feelings that can be hurt by art—but also that for art it is difficult and maybe even downright impossible not to hurt these feelings.

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