The Dark Ages Are Back
Alan Lightman | 30 April 2025 | The Atlantic
Today the concept of academic freedom may seem obvious to Americans. But the roots of academic freedom, which can be traced back to medieval European universities, were never certain. Back then, when scholars demanded autonomy from Church and state, they were often rebuked—or worse.
What began as a slow-burning fuse eventually led to the concept of the modern research university a few centuries later, found in the writing of the English philosopher Francis Bacon and his 1627 novel, New Atlantis. There, Bacon envisioned a college called Salomon’s House, in which scientists and others worked in an atmosphere of generosity and freethinking. This college came to be known as “the noblest foundation (as we think) that ever was upon the earth; and the lantern of this kingdom,” as the Governor of Bacon’s fictional utopia put it. “It is dedicated to the study of the works and creatures of God.”…