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This paper examines the prevalent notion that that the production of knowledge, academic research and teaching can and ought to be audited and assessed in the same manner as the production of other goods and services. The emphasis on similarities between industry and the academy leads to a neglect of fundamental differences in their aims and, as a consequence, a tendency to evaluate scientific research in terms of patents and product development and colleges and universities in terms of the labour market. The article examines the idea of the free academy, on the one hand, and compares and contrasts it to the idea of free enterprise, on the other. It is argued that the view of the university as a supplier of specific solutions for pre-determined, non-scientific needs (a workforce with skills currently in demand, innovations for commercial partners, justifications for political decisions, etc) undermines the public legitimacy of university science and weakens the fabric of scientific training and practice. The article proposes that the university's main purpose must be to provide a recognized neutral, autonomous agency of rigorous, disinterested investigation and scientific education, which constitutes a necessary condition for an enlightened liberal democracy: an informed, capable and critical citizenry.

In Book 2 of The Peloponnesian War, the ancient Greek historian Thucydides describes the Plague of Athens which killed an estimated 75,000 people in 430 BC, the second year of the war. Thucydides is highly regarded as the first 'scientific' historian and it is easy to appreciate why given the extensive detail he provides of the plague's deadly symptoms: there was no ostensible cause; but people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath. These symptoms were followed by sneezing and hoarseness, after which the pain soon reached the chest, and produced a hard cough. When it fixed in the stomach, it upset it; and discharges of bile of every kind named by physicians ensued, accompanied by very great distress. In most cases also an ineffectual retching followed, producing violent spasms, which in some cases ceased soon after, in others much later. Externally the body was not very hot to the touch, nor pale in its appearance, but reddish, livid, and breaking out into small pustules and ulcers. But internally it burned so that the patient could not bear to have on him clothing or linen even of the very lightest description; or indeed to be otherwise than stark naked. (p. 49, Bk 2, without notes) http://www.perseus. tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0200%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D49Reading Thucydides' account of the Plague of Athens, even though he was not present, one can understand the label of 'scientific history' and why Thucydides is regarded by some as one the greatest historians of all time, alongside Herodotus. Thucydides' work and a particular historical interpretation of the Peloponnesian War has become the basis for a framework assessing whether the US and China are destined for war at exactly the time of another great plague, COVID-19 a major global pandemic in 2019-2020. The stakes are very high as President Trump, deflecting responsibility for the ineptitude of his administration in managing the crisis, blames China and talks of cutting all ties with China, while China retaliates by indicating if that happened they would take Taiwan by force. 1 This latest escalation of tensions represents a new low-point in US-China relations and seems to verify the notion of 'Thucydides Trap' as a probably outcome for an escalating crisis that in its current form first emerged with Trump's anti-China election rhetoric.Graham Allison, a political scientist at John F. Kennedy School of Government coined the term 'Thucydides Trap' in his book Destined for War (2017). Writing for The Atlantic Allison (2015), taking his cue from The Peloponnesian War, asks the question 'The Thucydides Trap: Are the US and China Headed for War?' suggesting 'In 12 of 16 past cases in which a rising power has confronted a ruling power, the result has been bloodshed.' 2 For Allison 'The defining question about global order for this generation is whether Ch...

There is an ecology of bad ideas, just as there is an ecology of weeds -Gregory Bateson (1972, p. 492) While there are classical antecedents in ancient intellectual traditions, the modern notion of the public intellectual originates with the Enlightenment and begins to flourish during liberal modernity with the structural transformation of the bourgeois public sphere in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Habermas, 1989(Habermas, [1962). Democracy is theorised as an ideal speech community where validity claims can be discursively redeemed and public discourse is deemed to be governed by the force of argumentation alone. The history, role, and status of the public intellectual cannot be divorced from the changing concept of 'the public', originating in the Latin publicus and populus, and denoting 'the people', a group or association, state, or nation. Its early usages developed in relation to 'common access' (open to all) and the notions of the 'public interest', the 'public good' (considered to be both nonexcludable and non-rivalrous), and 'public opinion', a 'weak' epistemological determination of public judgement. The modern history of the public intellectual thus is indissociably associated with public discourse, public education and the rise of public media, referring, in particular, to public broadcasting involving radio, television and other electronic media designed to inform public debate.In terms of a broad historical epistemology the notion of public intellectuals today must be understood in relation to the concept of 'viral modernity', characterised by viral and open media, and technologies of post-truth that reveal the transformations of the 'public', its forms and its future possibilities . The concept of 'viral modernity' is based upon the nature of viruses, the ancient and critical roles they play in evolution and culture, to understand their basic application to the evolution of information and forms of bioinformation in the social world. There are parallel relations and symmetries between epidemics and infodemics (conspiracies) on the one hand, and open global science and

This collectively written article explores postdigital relationships between science, philosophy, and religion within the continuum of enchantment, disenchantment, and re-enchantment. Contributions are broadly classified within four sections related to academic fields of philosophy, theology, critical theory, and postdigital studies. The article reveals complex and nuanced relationships between various disciplinary perspectives, religions, and political positions, and points towards lot of commonalities between their views to the enchantment, disenchantment, re-enchantment continuum. Some commonly discussed questions include: Where do the mythical, mystical and spiritual end and the rational, objective and empirical begin? How do we find our bearings in the midst of this complexity and where do we search for resources that are trustworthy and reliable? While the article inevitably offers more questions than answers, a common thread between all contributions is the need for an open postdigital dialogue conducted in the spirit of mutual understanding and respect. It is with this conclusion that the article offers a possible route for further development of such dialogue in the future.