[OPINION] Press freedom, and negotiating with absolutism

We cannot stress enough the importance of press freedom. Considered to be a basic, inviolable human right, it is enshrined in our 1987 Philippine Constitution (Article 3, Section 4 of the Bill of Rights) as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The latter’s Article 19 states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression,” which includes “the freedom to…receive and impart information and ideas through any media.”

This means, all of us, especially journalists – they who risk their lives to gather and disseminate information – should be able to exercise the above-mentioned right and enjoy its statutory privileges without restraint and fear, while the rest of society is expected to uphold and respect this freedom. We, critical consumers of information, trust that they do their job responsibly, and if they don’t, we hold them accountable.

But, what if someone who has absolute power, for whatever reason, curtails such freedom? How do we negotiate press freedom with absolutism? Having negotiated freedom of thought, and together with it press freedom, with an absolutist, perhaps the “sage of Königsberg,” Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), can shed light on this.

Kant lived through an era ruled by at least 4 Prussian kings. They were autocrats who, in the words of Frederick William I, “can do what we like.” They had their iron hand on practically every facet of government, imposing their will on how the state was governed and, worse, on how their subjects conducted their lives. They were not just above the law but were the law. In the face of such supreme power, it would seem that the people could do nothing but be like dumb sheep who supported blindly their master. It seemed impossible to exercise one’s freedom of thought, much less fight for press freedom, in absolutist Prussia. But Kant fought for it. 

In his essay, “An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?,” Kant emphasises the value of “magazines” or journals. He explains that they are important not only because they are a great source of information or of cutting-edge discovery. More importantly, they are valuable because they provide an avenue for what he calls “public use of reason,” which is defined as “that use which someone makes of it as a scholar before the entire public of the world of readers.”

Journals embody the courageous utilization of understanding. That is, people who publish their work are brave not only because they expose themselves to scrutiny but also because they have the courage to think for themselves. While it is a way out of immaturity (i.e. Enlightenment), thinking for oneself, asserts Kant, is also our dignity that no one, not even a ruthless monarch, can take from us. 

One can certainly argue that Kant does not talk about newspapers themselves, and may even criticize him for being an intellectualist or elitist, self-interestedly defending his profession. However, through his work, he negotiated with an absolutist, stood his ground, and fought for what he thought needed defending, namely, our dignity of independent thinking and expression. What Kant shows is that, if we were to negotiate press freedom, first it is necessary to understand that press freedom is not just the freedom enjoyed by journalists as they keep us abreast of what is happening around us. More fundamentally, it is freedom of expression or of thought, which is our dignity. That press freedom boils down to the “thinking-for-oneself” that we are, an assault on press freedom is an assault on freedom of thought, on human dignity. 

A caveat: Kant addressed his essay to Frederick the Great, who was considered to be an “enlightened absolutist.” We have yet to see whether we can negotiate with a capricious, unenlightened absolutist although recent indications have not been favorable. Nevertheless, we muster enough courage in asserting that trampling press freedom is not just trampling the freedom of journalists. Trampling press freedom ultimately tramples our own dignity of thinking freely. – Rappler.com

Wendyl is doing a PhD in Philosophy at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. You may reach him at wendyluna1980@gmail.com.