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Free speech reveals truth—we need others to challenge our flawed thinking.

Facing hard ideas builds resilience; avoiding them makes us fragile.

A culture that nurtures mental health encourages us to confront things that make us uncomfortable.

Free speech isn’t just a legal right. It’s a psychological necessity.

That's why today's culture of silencing, shouting down, and canceling isn’t just a political problem—it’s a mental health one, insists Greg Lukianoff, a lawyer by training who is president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Lukianoff has spent 25 years defending campus speech. He’s also a survivor of suicidal depression, and what saved him wasn’t censorship. It was cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

“CBT changed—and probably saved—my life,” he says. “And CBT has a lot in common with freedom of speech.” CBT works by challenging distorted thinking patterns, and so does free discourse. When we suppress ideas, we suppress opportunities to test reality.

Free Speech Is How We Find Truth

“The way we figure out truth is a process of checking and rechecking,” Lukianoff says. “And it doesn't work if you just talk to people you already agree with.” In other words, if you want to know the truth about the world, you have to let people contradict you. Free speech isn’t just a liberty, it’s a tool for cognitive calibration, Lukianoff told a recent TED audience. .

His observation mirrors a core principle of CBT: cognitive restructuring. To grow, we must be willing to examine and challenge distorted thoughts. Research shows that tolerating ambiguity and cognitive dissonance is essential for critical thinking and emotional regulation.

When we shield ourselves from opposing viewpoints, we may think we’re trading truth for comfort. But that comfort is short-lived.

Free Speech Makes You Smarter and Stronger

Cancel culture, Lukianoff contends, is an expression of cognitive fragility. In........

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