Heterodox Academy (HxA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization of thousands of faculty, staff, and graduate students working to foster a culture of open inquiry on college and university campuses. To safeguard the culture of open inquiry, we:

• Equip members to foster positive change on their campuses through community building.
• Work directly with presidents, senior administrators, and trustees to proactively implement institutional policies and practices that support open inquiry.
• Produce and share research, tools, and exemplars to help institutions assess and improve their campus culture.

Through this work, we aim to build a culture in which professors and students hold a wide range of perspectives, freely explore a wide range of ideas, and collaboratively search for knowledge through scholarly use of argument, reason, and evidence. In such a culture, coercion, groupthink, and ideological monoculture give way to rigorous, open-minded inquiry for the sake of truth and progress.

We encourage you to print out the document and post it in your office or classroom.

1. Make your case with evidence. 

Cite credible sources whenever possible. Acknowledge reasonable evidence against your case.

2. Be intellectually charitable.

Engage with the strongest version of your opponents’ positions, and look for ways they may be right. Consider alternatives and fresh possibilities.

3. Be intellectually humble.

Consider that you may be wrong or that your perspective may be limited. Be aware of your argument’s weaknesses and be willing to change your mind when the evidence warrants.

4. Be constructive.

Instead of trying to “win” an intellectual exchange, seek a deeper understanding. Criticize ideas, not people.

5. Be yourself.

Have the courage to share your viewpoint: the unique set of ideas, experiences, knowledge, and connections that make you you. Bring your insights to our shared search for truth and understanding.