--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: MIT is governed by a second, even higher…" description: "\"MIT is governed by a second, even higher rule: the inalienable right of academic freedom.\" — Nicholas Negroponte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png" --- # MIT is governed by a second, even higher rule: the… ![“MIT is governed by a second, even higher rule: the inalienable right of academic freedom.” quote by Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png) > “MIT is governed by a second, even higher rule: the inalienable right of academic freedom.” [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Academic freedom is a fundamental principle that protects the right to explore and teach without external constraints. **In simple terms:** Freedom to teach and learn without limits. Key Takeaway Defend and cherish academic independence. Themes education freedom rights institutional governance Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - university policy - faculty decisions - student activism - curriculum design Key Concepts liberty intellectual autonomy rights of scholars Questions to Reflect On - How does academic freedom impact societal progress? - What limits, if any, should be placed on it? A Different Perspective Balancing freedom with responsibility can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-freedom/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [“The pursuit of unhappiness is an inalienable right of all humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-pursuit-of-unhappiness-is-an-inalienable-right-of-all-humans/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“I've come to realize that one of the perks of a free society is the inalienable right to debase ourselves in a wide variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-purcell/i-ve-come-to-realize-that-one-of-the-perks-of-a-free-society-is-the/) Steve Purcell > [I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-hold-it-to-be-the-inalienable-right-of-anybody-to-go-to-hell-in-his/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Passover affirms the great truth that liberty is the inalienable right of every human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-joseph/passover-affirms-the-great-truth-that-liberty-is-the-inalienable/) Morris Joseph > [Human beings have an inalienable right to invent themselves; when that right is pre-empted it is called brain-washing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/human-beings-have-an-inalienable-right-to-invent-themselves-when-that/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is the inalienable right of all to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-is-the-inalienable-right-of-all-to-be-happy/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Global commerce is driven by a single conviction: the inalienable right to earn profit, regardless of any human cost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/global-commerce-is-driven-by-a-single-conviction-the-inalienable/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [A free citizen in a free state, it seems to me, has an inalienable right to play with whomsoever he will, so long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-free-citizen-in-a-free-state-it-seems-to-me-has-an-inalienable/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Human beings have an inalienable right to invent themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/human-beings-have-an-inalienable-right-to-invent-themselves/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [But I finally concluded that it is an inalienable right of lovers everywhere to become temporarily worthless to the world, it may even be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/but-i-finally-concluded-that-it-is-an-inalienable-right-of-lovers/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [In our country we ask no toleration for religion and its free exercise, but we claim it as an inalienable right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/in-our-country-we-ask-no-toleration-for-religion-and-its-free/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) > [The most tyrannical of governments are those which make crimes of opinions, for everyone has an inalienable right to his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/the-most-tyrannical-of-governments-are-those-which-make-crimes-of/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [ \[Religious liberty was\] in its nature an inalienable right ... because the opinions of men, depending only upon the evidence contemplated by their minds,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/religious-liberty-was-in-its-nature-an-inalienable-right-because-the/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Hereditary right should be kept sacred, not from any inalienable right in a particular family, but to avoid the consequences that usually attend the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/hereditary-right-should-be-kept-sacred-not-from-any-inalienable-right/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More by Nicholas Negroponte > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [The computer provides the only way to give students a real foundation in 21st-century skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/the-computer-provides-the-only-way-to-give-students-a-real-foundation/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [The process of debugging, going an correcting the program and then looking at the behavior, and then correcting it again, and finally iteratively getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/the-process-of-debugging-going-an-correcting-the-program-and-then/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [I think life's turning into an omelet and people will just have to live with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/i-think-life-s-turning-into-an-omelet-and-people-will-just-have-to/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Linux is its own worst enemy: it's splintered, it has different distributions, it's too complex to run for most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/linux-is-its-own-worst-enemy-it-s-splintered-it-has-different/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [But just as elevators have changed the shape of buildings and cars have changed the shape of cities, bits will change the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/but-just-as-elevators-have-changed-the-shape-of-buildings-and-cars/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Good education has got to be good entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/good-education-has-got-to-be-good-entertainment/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Even in the developing parts of the world, kids take to computers like fish to water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/even-in-the-developing-parts-of-the-world-kids-take-to-computers-like/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Key is the question of where do new ideas come from. Historically, four places: government labs, big corporations, startup companies, and research universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/key-is-the-question-of-where-do-new-ideas-come-from-historically-four/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Everybody agrees that whatever the solutions are to the big problems, they ... can never be without some element of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/everybody-agrees-that-whatever-the-solutions-are-to-the-big-problems/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [A Wired reader told me once, Get a life, which I read from the back of a yacht in the Aegean, while eating fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/a-wired-reader-told-me-once-get-a-life-which-i-read-from-the-back-of/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Give One, Get One generated about 100,000 zero-dollar laptops. Somebody else paid for them, but from the recipient's point of view, that's zero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/give-one-get-one-generated-about-100-000-zero-dollar-laptops-somebody/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Rote learning is a killer for most of us and for some people, it really excludes them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/rote-learning-is-a-killer-for-most-of-us-and-for-some-people-it/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [It's hard to propose a $100 laptop for a world community of kids and then not say in the same breath that you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/it-s-hard-to-propose-a-100-laptop-for-a-world-community-of-kids-and/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [This is just the beginning, the beginning of understanding that cyberspace has no limits, no boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/this-is-just-the-beginning-the-beginning-of-understanding-that/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) [Explore all 86 Nicholas Negroponte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. 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Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. 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But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. 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Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "MIT is governed by a second, even higher rule: the inalienable right of academic freedom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas Negroponte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher-rule-the-inalienable-right-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher-rule-the-inalienable-right-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/nicholas-negroponte-7911_academic_mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher_1667559.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“MIT is governed by a second, even higher rule: the inalienable right of academic freedom.” — Nicholas Negroponte", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nicholas Negroponte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "MIT is governed by a second,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher-rule-the-inalienable-right-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/mit-is-governed-by-a-second-even-higher-rule-the-inalienable-right-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```