The Future of Universities and the Fate of Free Inquiry and Academic Freedom

This paper suggests that the time for free inquiry and academic freedom at European universities has rarely been better than at present, that debates and results arising from independent scientific discourse have rarely had better chances of blossoming and evoking a response than in the time in which we now live, and that the basic rules of university and scholarly work in general are, by no means, seriously threatened in Europe, in comparison to many other regions of the world. What I see is that universities now, more than ever, have the chance and the obligation to discharge their duties at the centre of society. Universities are needed and respected—and with them the principles of the university that this paper describes and elaborates. These principles are recognized by society as a whole as the prerequisites for a successful response. This is the age of the universities—now, more than ever.