[BIFI] Berkeley Initiative for Free Inquiry
BIFI Home Membership Join BIFI News, Events, and Resources Free inquiry and open debate is vital for research and education. The Berkeley Initiative for Free Inquiry (BIFI) is a faculty group devoted to improving the climate for free speech Our mission We are a group of Berkeley faculty representing diverse viewpoints and disciplines who share a common commitment to free inquiry and open debate. We believe these are vital ingredients to maintaining the University’s position as a leading institution for rese
Free inquiry is a central requirement for the University’s excellence in all of its core missions: A proper university education must invite students to grapple earnestly with difficult and uncomfortable questions, credible scientific research must approach politically loaded empirical questions with unflinching willingness to report inconvenient findings, and vigorous scholarship in the arts and humanities must be free to boldly question consensus beliefs and values. While we prize civility and kindness, t