Journal of Information Ethics最新文献

{"title":"Beyond a bad attitude? Information workers and their prospects through the pages of Processed World","authors":"S. Wright","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.2.127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.2.127","url":null,"abstract":"It is now thirty years since the first issue of Processed World (PW) hit the streets of San Francisco. Hunt around on the net, and you can find a snippet of film footage showing three editors of PW pacing the Financial District sidewalk, dressed in outlandish costumes (a computer terminal, a can of nuts, and something else-a punch card? the corporate ladder?), waving copies of their magazine (Shaping San Francisco 1982). A year or so later, the PW collective would organize a lively bus tour of Silicon Valley, visiting points of interest that made plain the military connections and dubious management practices of the rising computer industry. But to fail to look beyond this, dismissing PW as no more than a zany eighties \"anti- tech\" revisiting of the Merry Pranksters (Besher 1984), is to misunderstand the project altogether. From its inception, the journal \"with a bad attitude\" worked to promote workplace rebellion among \"the majority of the work force, i.e., information handlers\" (Cabins 1983a, p. 9), employed-typically in an office setting-to \"file, sort, type, track, process, duplicate and triplicate the ever expanding mass of \"information\" necessary to operate the global corporate economy\" (Athanasiou 1981, p. 16). While ultimately failing in its goal, PW proved to be an innovative undertaking on a number of levels, from its critical account of information work for capital and the resistance this engendered, to the ways in which the journal sought to mobilize the printed word and graphic design to its ends.Within the space of a few short years, as the Reagan era ushered in a new phase of conformity in both workplace and society, it became clear to editors and readers alike that the premises that had originally inspired Processed World were more and more difficult to realize in practice, at least in the short term. Without abandoning either its leftlibertarian stance or its concern for the sphere of paid work, its editors chose to broaden their field of view in search of what one of them would call an \"aesthetics of resistance\" (Med- O 1986, p. 53). Issues continued to appear into the nineties and beyond, although with decreasing regularity (the latest was published in 2006, after a five year hiatus, and may have been the last).Processed World's circulation may never have topped 5,000 (Gee 1993, p. 245), although that figure was respectable for a publication positioned outside the mainstream culture and media of its time. A continuing if subterranean influence within leftlibertarian circles in North America and beyond, the journal has since been remembered as part of \"a little- recognized punk culture golden age for alternative publishing\" (Solnit and Schwartzenberg 2000, p. 35), and as a \"legendary magazine [that] covered the growing pains of white- collar office work in the pre-Internet information economy throughout the 1980s\" (Ross 2003, p. 267). In terms of its contributions to popular visual culture, Processed World can also lay claim to ","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"127-156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69755724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Having a Stroke: Ethical Issues in Medicine and Law","authors":"R. Eisenman","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.2.5","url":null,"abstract":"Tom (not his real name; all names are changed) had a stroke. I learned a lot about this case and see various medical and legal realities that reflect possible ethical concerns. I present the case history below, and number the possible ethical issues involved.Tom's stroke occurred when he worked in the retail store of a large U.S. corporation and the person doing clean-up accidentally splashed toxic chemicals on him. Tom eventually had to be taken to the hospital where they failed to diagnose that he had a stroke (possible ethical issue #1). Later, they figured out that he had a stroke, but misdiagnosed the kind of stroke (possible ethical issue #2). Regarding 1 and 2, are these ethical issues when a hospital gets the diagnosis wrong? Should medical practitioners know better or should we conclude that anyone-including professionals-can make a mistake? Certainly, professionals cannot always be accurate. I almost laugh when people say things like, \"How could the parole board let him out?\" after someone goes on to commit more crimes. The answer is that one cannot be close to 100 percent accurate in predicting which prisoner will or will not commit future crimes. However, there are minimal standards that any professional-such as hospital personnel-should attain, and sometimes the failure to attain these minimal standards is an issue of ethics, e.g., when due to neglect of something that is known or should be known. But hospitals and other agencies protect themselves by claiming to be operating according to their code of ethics (Hauptman & Hill, 1991; Konner, 1988; Wallace, 2010; van Meijl, 2000).Ethical issue #3 occurred when Dr. Dollar referred Tom to the rehabilitation center where Dr. Dollar has a financial interest and apparently gets money for referrals. Is that unethical? If the answer is \"no,\" what if Dr. Dollar refers people who do not need that service, but is motivated by the money he will make? Is that not clearly unethical? The rehab center had Tom doing exercises that caused horrible pain and yet another stroke. When Dr. Hasty heard about this, he was furious at Dr. Dollar and yelled at him, \"Why did you have him doing exercise? He had a stroke. He should not be exercising.\"Ethical issue #4 occurred when the hospital finally figured out what kind of stroke Tom had and rediagnosed him AND changed the earlier diagnoses to make it seem that they had it right all along. It seems to me to be clearly unethical and probably criminal. It makes me wonder, How often does this occur in hospitals and in medical practice and in other contexts?Ethical issue #5 was the inadequate treatment Tom received in the hospital, even after the correct diagnosis. In fact, they informed his wife that he would probably not live for more than a few days. Fortunately, his friend Jack visited Tom in the hospital. Jack was in medical school (though older than most of his fellow medical students) and knew about strokes. He looked at Tom's charts and other information abo","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"5-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69756136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Ethical Importance of Extensive Quotation of Reviewed and Cited Authors","authors":"J. S. Fulda","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.1.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.1.5","url":null,"abstract":"Reviews. There are two genera of unfair reviews: those that critique a book or article for not having the aims the reviewer might wish it had and argue against the work under review for its other and different aims, and those that represent the author of the book or article under review as holding views or making arguments (or citing evidence in favor of either) that are neither in nor genuinely supported by the text. (Notice that the latter genus of unfair review can certainly redound to the reviewed author's considerable advantage, but to the ultimate detriment of the review's readers who must rely on the reviewer because they have not [yet] read the work under review. [See Fulda, 2006.])Extensive quotation-providing the reader with both text and substantial context-very nearly precludes both genera of unfair review. All that is necessary is disclosure of the aims and scope of the work under review by extensive quotation from the preface and for each substantial criticism - whether favorable or unfavorable-of a view or argument (or evidence cited for either), once again, extensive quotation of that view or argument with enough text so as to preserve context. Following that, the reader has what he really needs to judge for himself whether the reviewer is or is not on the mark as the reader sees it. The same is true of criticism, again whether favorable or unfavorable, of the writing: Show the reader; do not merely tell him. Of course, the reviewer is adjured not to give away the store, either! And the reviewer who does otherwise in this last regard is violating the author's moral rights and potentially his legal rights, by exceeding fair use and potentially \"fair use.\"Yes, this method can and often will weigh down reviews-especially if the work under review is not well-written-not to mention that it will almost always make the reviews significantly longer. But it does provide a check on reviewers' tendencies to substitute their own aims for the reviewed author's and their own view of what the author says and means for what he actually says and means.1Citations. The situation with cited authors is quite different and much more complicated. Authors can fairly be quoted-and I have often done just that in selecting an epigraph-out of context, provided either the quoted author's aims are not represented-explicitly or implicitly, and that last is crucial-as being in accord with the quoting author, or the quoting author disclaims the same or similar aims, or both. But, then, quotation is the simplest and least ethically complicated type of citation, and not the usual type.Much more often, a cited author is not quoted, but is simply cited in support of or as contrary to a particular view or argument. In my experience, this is where the ethical problems usually lie. For oftentimes, a check indicates that the cited author does not actually hold the view as claimed or cannot easily be used to support or controvert the argument at issue. This has happened t","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"5-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69755518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs","authors":"R. Hauptman","doi":"10.5860/choice.45-6210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.45-6210","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71121455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of the Code of Ethics on Workplace Behavior in Academic Libraries","authors":"K. Kendrick, E. Leaver","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.1.86","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.1.86","url":null,"abstract":"In information professions, the ability and willingness of those in service to act with integrity and for the cause of the greater good is a point of pride to those serving and an area fundamental to the peace of mind of those seeking assistance. Librarians, in particular, work diligently to serve their communities and advocate the ideals that are crucial to the stability of a democratic society and an informed citizenry: freedom of speech, free flow of and access to information, awareness and protection of intellectual property rights, and equitable treatment of those seeking information. However, while these values are generally upheld by the Library and Information Science (LIS) field, there has always been some contention surrounding the idea of librarianship as a profession in the areas of job function and educational requirements (Edwards, 1975; Salonen, 2003; Smith, 2006; Gordon, 2008; Lonergan, 2009), professional image and status (Lancour and Rossi, 1961; Shaffer, 1968; Wilson, 1979; McDermott, 1984; Arant and Benefiel, 2003; Luthmann, 2007), and relevancy, enforceability and usefulness of the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics (COE), (Goode, 1961; Murray, 1990; Finks, 1991; Hauptman, 2002; Sturgeon, 2007; ALA, 2009). Books about the evolution of librarianship as a profession (Ennis & Winger, 1961; Shaffer, 1968; Budd, 2008) and library ethics (Hauptman 1988; Hauptman 2002; Preer 2008) have been written; and conversations about all of these concerns have found their way into new venues of communication, like web logs (Houghton-Jan, 2008; R. Deschamps, 2010; Deschamps, 2010). Sometimes, ruminations about the COE have been combined with discussions about academic library values (Peterson, 1983; Dole & Hurych, 2001), always with heavy acknowledgement towards parity between meaningful ethical principles and LIS' legitimate claim to professional status.A quick review of the characteristics of a profession (body of theory, professional authority, community sanction, a binding code of ethics, and a professional culture) shows that librarianship still has quite a bit of ground to cover; however, some literature implies that it is librarians-not society-that keep them from enjoying the full benefits of professional status-namely, that the public easily recognizes librarianship as a profession (Schuman, 1990; Adams, 2000). Articles concerned with how librarians are perceived externally (and internally by other librarians) are numerous. Even the ALA's official publication, American Libraries, has a regular column titled \"How the World Sees Us.\" However, upon closer inspection, we find that the negative archetypal image of the librarian may be decreasing (Kroll, 2004; Luthmann, 2007). Where there was once an old Caucasian spinster with a petty penchant for quiet and patron condescension, there is now the helpful guide on the side and bold adventurer. This change in public perception is crucial as we delve into issues of ethical behavi","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"86-112"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69755267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Banned in Boston: The Watch and Ward Society's Crusade against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil","authors":"Judy Anderson","doi":"10.5860/choice.48-3465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.48-3465","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"138"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71132169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Things in Themselves: A Prolegomenon to Redefining Intellectual Property in the Nano-Age","authors":"D. Koepsell","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.1.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.1.12","url":null,"abstract":"We have been confronted in the last hundred years with a rapidly changing technological environment. This environment has brought with it great wealth and prosperity, and there is no doubt that emerging concepts and applications of intellectual property (IP) have aided our scientific, technological, and economic expansion. Copyrights and patents offer monopolistic rights to authors and inventors over their creations, ensuring profits for fixed terms, and providing fortune as well as fame for the most successful inventors and authors. Monopoly rights are strong incentives to create both utilitarian and aesthetic works.Recently, emerging technologies have challenged traditional IP theory and practice. Consider the rise of computerized phenomena, and the proliferation of software and instantaneous communications through the Internet. Software has been considered a kind of hybrid, treated both as a patentable invention and as copyrightable expressions. In my first book, The Ontology of Cyberspace, I consider how software has revealed that our distinctions between copyrightable and patentable objects are artificial and illogical. I argue that all intentionally produced, man-made objects are expressions, and that computerization has merely revealed how one expression is very much like another. More recently, I have considered the question of patenting un-modified genes. In the course of that discussion, I further criticize the application of existing IP to genomics and genetics, at least where patents have issued for unmodified genes or l ife-forms. In all of my work, I have sought to uncover the ontologies (descriptions of the objects and relations involved) of the underlying objects. I have done this believing that once we reveal the nature of things (like expressions, machines, software, and genes, as well as relations and social objects like property, ownership, and intentions) we could then sensibly sort out logical errors and inefficiencies in public policies.We are now on the cusp of a new engineering breakthrough that will once again challenge our relation to our technological world, and likely pose new challenges to the application of traditional IP. Nanotechnology involves the construction of materials and objects at the ?nano-scale,? beginning at the molecular level. Theoretically, this will mean cheap and abundant objects of any size and shape, more-or-less instantly created, with little-to-no waste, and constructed anywhere and at any time. The science-fiction notion of simply dialing up an object and having it constructed on the spot, molecule-by-molecule, may well be decades away or further, but it is the end-goal of many who pursue nanotechnology research. Even so, we will begin facing unique challenges about the nature of intellectual property as the dividing lines between ideas and expressions further blur, and matter itself becomes programmable.Intellectual property has become a major force economically and culturally, impelling in p","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"12-27"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69755437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Privacy from a Saudi Arabian Perspective: The Case of Students in a Private University","authors":"Yeslam Al‐Saggaf, J. Weckert","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.1.34","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.1.34","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionTo say that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has affected Saudis tremendously is an understatement. This is because ICT has in actual fact revolutionized every aspect of their lives including the way they communicate, the way they conduct business, the way they learn, and the way they work.There is strong evidence particularly from the local Saudi media that suggests that ICT has in fact subjected people in Saudi Arabia to circumstances they have never previously experienced and as a result challenged their understanding of how to behave ethically amidst competing demands from self, employer, clients, friends, and community. The invasion of privacy, for example, which employees suffer when their employers use video cameras to systemically monitor them without their consent or even knowledge, is considered by many employers in Saudi Arabia, even the most religious, as acceptable and not wrong and unethical.The massive rise in the adoption of ICT has seen the birth of many unethical behaviors including the use of Bluetooth on mobiles to spread obscenities or blackmail women, the use of Facebook to cyber-bully teenagers, the use of email to spam people, and the use of web-based forums to offend people or spread rumors. These of course are in addition to other typical unethical behaviors like the setting up of insecure networks, the delivery of software products that are behind schedule, over budget, and incompatible with customer requirements, the violation of intellectual property rights, and the use of bit torrent software to download copyrighted materials, among other things.The biggest ethical problem, however, that information and communication technologies have created is probably invading people's privacy through the use of these ICTs. The use of mobile cameras to photograph women or film them in ways that invades their privacy is a good example of these unethical behaviors. What has become a serious problem for Saudi women in recent times, as reported in the media, is when criminals threaten women to either submit to their sexual desires or face the consequences of having their photos or video clips posted on the internet or distributed publically using Bluetooth on mobiles causing serious damage to their family reputation. The recent case of an immigrant computer technician who discovered some personal photos of a female when he was fixing her computer and then blackmailed her is an example of these cases of extortion. It should be noted that the male honor and family reputation are to a large extent in the hands of the female members of the family. If it was discovered and became public that a woman committed adultery, for example, or engaged in an illicit sexual relationship with a man or just met secretly and privately with him in the real world, the family honor and reputation would be destroyed.Ethics is the cornerstone of the Islamic religion and there is no doubt that the Muslims' sacred book, Al-Quran, and ","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"34-53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69755475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Significance of a Suitable Information Ethical Code: A Case Study of the Chinese Morality Perspective","authors":"C. Chang","doi":"10.3172/JIE.20.1.54","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/JIE.20.1.54","url":null,"abstract":"IntroductionComputers and electronic communication facilitate a detached form of interaction among people, and are media through which people are able to send and receive information in an unpremeditated way, leading to changes in interpersonal relationships. Moreover, they represent a quick, low cost communication mechanism through which the copying and printing of intellectual property is easily done, making the violation of patent rights, residuary rights, copyright, and piracy rife, and the interception of messages and invasion of privacy commonplace. Such a communication channel provides considerable freedom and space for the innovative use and diffusion of information. The concept of information sharing runs counter to that of complete confidentiality and partial accessibility. For this reason, the principle of information ethics always contravenes the important value of freely accessible information. In view of this, the electronic age requires legal authentication to render unnecessary paper authorization and legitimization. Therefore, due to the unique difficulties and challenges of the IT developments outlined above, the principle and application of ethics must be adapted to accommodate the needs of information technology (IT) (Weiss, 1990; Martin, 2001; Davison et al., 2006).A well-designed code will help to educate several communities. If a code is sufficiently detailed, it will help to educate clients and society, and reduce the developer's tendency to take short-cuts. A detailed code can be used as a foundation for a malpractice suit against developers who intentionally fail to meet the standards specified in a code. A code also serves to educate its membership and potential membership about the standards of the profession (Gotterbarn, 1998). The Center for Business Ethics (1986) found that 83 to 93 percent of companies have an ethical code (Berenbeim, 1992), the manager of those companies believing that the code is instrumental in the prevention of unethical conduct among employees (Manley, 1991). As employees recognize the ethical code as a form of law and rule, it helps clarify the definition of the range of behavior unacceptable to the company, thus helping both to prevent computer abuse and to influence the moral judgment of employees (Bequai, 1983).The ethical code of NASW (National Association of Social Workers, 1996) includes a series expectant of the normative description of workers' attitude and behavior, most of which is context dependent. Due to the inhibitions of code, to resolve the conflict between situation factors and code, rule and standard should refer to the context. The hypothesis of the code is individuals of good character will behave responsibly in good faith. For this reason, social workers should consider cultural habits and adopt a flexible interpretation of the behavior of professionals (Goldstein, 1999).Although a number of scholars have studied information ethics (Schlegelmilch, 1989; Langlois and Schle","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"20 1","pages":"54-85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69755637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Testing the Parameters of Free Speech in the First Amendment: A Review Essay","authors":"J. Dilevko","doi":"10.3172/jie.19.2.114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3172/jie.19.2.114","url":null,"abstract":"Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment Anthony Lewis (New York: Basic Books, 2007). Hardcover edition. 221 pages. $25.00. ISBN-13: 978-0-465-03917-3; ISBN-10: 0-465-03917-0.From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America Christopher M. Finan (Boston: Beacon Press, 2007). Hardcover edition. 348 pages. $25.95. ISBN-13: 978-0-8070-4428-5; ISBN-10: 0-8070-4428-8.Darwin Day in America: How Our Politics and Culture Have Been Dehumanized in the Name of Science John G. West (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2007). Hardcover edition. 495 pages. $28.00. ISBN-13: 978-1-933859-32-3; ISBN-10: 1-933859-32-6.At the beginning of the 21 st century, individuals in the United States typically take for granted the free-speech clause in the First Amendment of the Constitution. With few exceptions, such as in cases of blackmail or when speech, to quote Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in his 1919 dissent in Abrams v. United States, \"produces and is intended to produce a clear and imminent danger that ... will bring about forthwith certain substantive evils,\" anything and everything-no matter how unseemly, inappropriate, loathsome, or vile it may appear to others-can be expressed without fear of government sanctions both at the federal and state levels. Or, as Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., put it in 1989 in Texas v. Johnson, \"the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable,\" an opinion consistent with his view in 1957 in Roth v. United States that ideas with \"even the slightest redeeming social importance-unorthodox ideas, controversial ideas, even ideas hateful to the prevailing climate of opinion\" deserve First Amendment protection (qtd. in Lewis, pp. 28, 134, 165).But as Adam Liptak reminds us in \"Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech (The New York Times, June 12, 2008), the United States follows a \"distinctive legal path\" in its approach to what Holmes called \"the thought that we hate.\" Numerous other countries, including Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, and India, \"have laws or signed international conventions banning hate speech,\" so much so that \"[i]t is a crime to deny the Holocaust in Canada, Germany and France.\" Hate speech, of course, is not limited to Holocaust denial. In France, Liptak writes, \"Brigitte Bardot, an animal rights activist, was fine $23,000 ... for provoking racial hatred by criticizing a Muslim ceremony involving the slaughter of sheep.\" In Canada, the weekly newsmagazine Maclean's was forced to defend itself before human rights tribunals in Ontario and British Columbia in 2007-2008 for publishing an article by Mark Steyn called \"The Future Belongs to Islam,\" an excerpt from his book America Alone (Regnery, 2006), which argued that \"the rise of Islam threatened Western values.\" In Canada, these laws \"seem to stem from a desire","PeriodicalId":39913,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Ethics","volume":"14 1","pages":"114"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69754855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}