[Air-l] universal ethics?
Radhika Gajjala
radhika at cyberdiva.org
Sun Mar 27 17:30:50 PST 2005
I knew you'd take that on;-)
r
>Hi all,
>
> Radhika wrote in response to Peter T.
>
> PT >> If there are universal ethics we can prove these on the Internet.
> >
> >
> RG> whose ethics will be universalised do you suppose? and what kinds of
> > intolerances might that validate/legitimize?
> >
>Exactly the right questions - thank you, Radhika!
>And I would gently reply: I think we can propose
>an ethics that begins in part with the universal
>value implicit in the suggestion here that
>"universal" claims have all too often in the
>past served as excuses for colonialism,
>imperialism, and other forms of oppression and
>violence - namely, that tolerance for Others
>(those whose identities, views, and practices
>may differ radically from our own) and
>affiliated presumptions of human equality should
>be endorsed exactly as the bases for criticizing
>claims to universality that instead led to
>colonialism, etc.
>I would add: this tolerance is not unlimited.
>Rather, I think it's quite possible to endorse
>tolerance as a universal value - but not thereby
>be committed to tolerating, say, fascist regimes
>and violent repression of women and minorities.
>On the contrary, by proposing that rights to
>integrity, autonomy, cultural identity, and so
>forth are, at the very least, strong candidates
>for universal rights (and their attendant
>obligations) - such universal rights and values
>provide precisely the grounds for criticizing
>earlier "universal" claims affiliated with
>colonialism, etc., as well as for criticizing
>contemporary expressions of violence and
>intolerance of "the Other".
>My (admittedly characteristic mid-Western [North
>American]) optimism on this point is fueled in
>part precisely by the success of the AoIR
>ethical guidelines. Admittedly, while our
>ethics working committee included members from
>Malaysia and Thailand, the background for the
>guidelines were largely derived from "Western"
>countries such as the U.S., the E.U.,
>Scandinavia, and the U.K. Nonetheless, the
>guidelines are reported to us as being used in
>apparently effective ways in an increasing range
>of cultural venues.
> Moreover, my more recent work (with the help, I
>must hasten to add, of many, many colleagues in
>these domains) on Information Ethics and
>Internet Research Ethics in countries such as
>China, Japan, Thailand, and Korea also offer
>grounds for optimism. For example, two recent
>examples of Internet research in Japan
>demonstrate more or less perfect consonance with
>the AoIR guidelines recommendations regarding
>informed consent, protection of confidentiality,
>anonymity, and personal data, etc.
>Indeed, emerging conceptions of privacy and data
>privacy protection law in these countries -
>while clearly retaining distinctive cultural
>shape in their conception and application -
>are nonetheless recognizable cousins of
>"Western" conceptions and laws. This suggests
>that even across the considerable cultural
>differences, say, between the U.S. and Germany,
>on the one hand, and China, Japan, Thailand,
>Korea, and Hong Kong, on the other - there may
>be agreement on basic (universal?) values such
>as privacy, while at the same time recognizing
>the validity of clearly different
>implementations and understandings of what data
>privacy protection means in practice in each
>country, as shaped by very different cultural
>backgrounds, histories, and traditions.
>
> This is not to say that all cultural
>differences and resulting conflicts can be
>deftly side-stepped through such pluralism (I
>have examples of these as well). But I do think
>that universal values may be discerned - in
>part, through an on-going dialogue that works to
>critically assess any such putative values,
>precisely with a critical eye towards how any
>such values might in fact work in oppressive
>rather than liberating ways. Indeed, I think we
>make more progress towards some sort of shared,
>humane value system_s_ and ethics through such
>dialogues, rather than giving up the effort,
>however much previous failures and disasters
>might tempt us to do so.
>I _dont_ take Radhikas point to encourage such
>temptation but wanted to offer these comments.
>Hope this helps in some way. All the best in the meantime,
>
>Charles Ess
>Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies
>Drury University
>900 N. Benton Ave.
>Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
> voice: (1) 417-873-7230
> fax: (1) 417-873-7435
>homepage: www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html
>
>"The world can provide for everyone's needs -
>but not for everyone's greed." - Gandhi
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--
Radhika Gajjala
Associate Professor
School of Communication Studies
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik
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