'The War On Science' with Richard Dawkins, Lawrence M. Krauss and guests

THE WAR ON SCIENCE: Renowned Scientists and Scholars Speak Out About Current Threats to Free Speech, Open Inquiry, and the Scientific Process

Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW

Doors open 5pm

Panel with Q and A: 5.45pm to 7.30pm

Book signing and drinks reception 7.30pm to 9pm

The Free Speech Union is delighted to have been asked to host the UK book launch for ‘The War On Science’, a vital contribution to public debate from an unparalleled group of prominent scholars.

Our guest speakers are Richard Dawkins, Alan Sokal, Alice Sullivan, John Armstrong, Amy Wax and the book’s editor, Lawrence M. Krauss. The evening will be chaired by FSU General Secretary Toby Young.

Essays have also been contributed to the book by Steven Pinker, Niall Ferguson, Gad Saad and many others.

‘The War On Science’ argues that science and scholarship are under threat throughout western institutions with disastrous consequences for knowledge and progress. The policing of language, assaults on merit-based hiring and the dominance of ideological mantras across science and medicine should concern us all.

As contributions from a group of prominent scholars ranging across many different disciplines and political leanings detail, the very future of free inquiry and scientific progress is at risk. Many who have spoken up against this threat have lost their positions, and a climate of fear has arisen that strikes at the heart of modern education and research. Banding together to finally speak out, this brave and unprecedented group of scholars issues a clarion call for change.

Join us on Saturday 4th October at a very special event to hear from our eminent speakers, get signed copies of the book and celebrate its publication at a drinks reception.

The event is co-sponsored by , a non-profit foundation dedicated to connecting science and culture and defending reason and free inquiry , by encouraging discussion of key issues that will impact humanity in the 21st century.

TICKETS

Special Ticket + Book Package: £35 FSU MEMBERS. £40 GENERAL PUBLIC.

Ticket-only option: £20 FSU MEMBERS. £25 GENERAL PUBLIC.

If you not yet a member of the Free Speech Union, JOIN TODAY for discounts on all FSU Events.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Richard Dawkins was the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. His eighteen books include The Selfish Gene, Unweaving the Rainbow, and, most recently, The Genetic Book of the Dead.

Lawrence M. Krauss is currently president of The Origins Project Foundation, chair of the board of the Free Speech Union, Canada, CEO of Gus What Productions, and host of The Origins Podcast. He is a theoretical physicist and the author of over three hundred scientific publications. He has held professorships at Yale University, Case Western Reserve University, Australian National University, New College of the Humanities, and Arizona State University, and he is the recipient of numerous international awards and fellowships for his research and writing. His popular books include the New York Times bestsellers The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing. Krauss also appears regularly on radio, TV, and films.

Alice Sullivan is Professor of Sociology at the UCL Social Research Institute. During her career, Alice has made extensive use of secondary data analysis of large-scale longitudinal data sets in research focussing on social and educational inequalities in the life course, and was Director of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) between 2010-2020. In recent years, she has focussed on the defence of academic freedom and the importance of data collection on sex. She is the author of the government-commissioned Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender.

Alan Sokal is a professor of mathematics at the University College London and professor emeritus of physics at New York University. He is the coauthor (with Jean Bricmont) of Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse of Science and author of Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture.

John Armstrong is a Reader in Financial Mathematics at King’s College London. His mathematical research includes pension investment, rough-path theory, and applications of geometry to stochastic processes. His educational research champions a scientific approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion. He is a cofounder of the London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom.

Amy L. Wax is the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches courses in Remedies, Conservative Political and Legal Thought, and Law, Neuroscience, and Responsibility. Her scholarship addresses issues in social welfare law and public policy, as well as the relationship of the family, the workplace, and labor markets. She received an MD from Harvard Medical School and a JD from Columbia Law School. She served in the Solicitor General’s Office of the Department of Justice during the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. She is the author of Race, Wrongs, and Remedies (2009).

CHAIR: Toby Young (Lord Young of Acton)

Toby Young is a British journalist and campaigner. He is the founder and general secretary of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of The Spectator and the editor-in-chief of the Daily Sceptic. He was made a life peer in 2024.

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