Professors Ought to Speak Strongly Against the War

To the editors:

Re: “ The Sound of Silence,” news story, March 19.

As originators of the No Iraq Attack petition, signed by 120 Harvard Professors and 10,000 other professors before the Iraq invasion, we are saddened to read the excuses of professors who now justify their silence in the lead up to that war. We are also grateful that many faculty members who are leading experts on international security did voice their concerns, including an advertisement in The New York Times signed by Professors Stephen M. Walt (Harvard), Stephen W. Van Evera (MIT) and dozens of others before the war.

Whatever the efficacy of dissent, speaking courageously for truth and justice is the job of the academy. Professor Stanley Hoffman speaks forcefully regarding the responsibility of the intellectual.  Tenured professors, particularly in elite institutions, are protected members of society. We hope and trust that a increasing number of them will recognize that along with these privileges come important responsibilities, particularly in times of crises.

KEN NAKAYAMA
NANCY KANWISHER
Cambridge, Mass.
March 20, 2008

Ken Nakayama is the Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Nancy Kanwisher is the Swallow Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT.