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aytgimm

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  1. Note: This was originally posted as a response to the thread Ethical Speaking. I have moved it into the Debate Forum since it advocates ideas contrary to Objectivism. - CF I found this post interesting - because I am a professor who teaches public speaking from the textbook, Between One and Many. Ethics is crucial to communication, and so it is essential that it is discussed. Words are powerful tools, after all, and as public speakers, it is essential to be a conscientious speaker. Unfortunately, your class is a general education undergraduate course - so the discussion of ethics is a bit brief, to say the least. Per your criticism of the chapter, I would like to point out some of the context that I felt was missing from your commentary. The question, "why care about ethics" is brought up by the authors as a common question asked by classes. They answer in two parts. You mentioned only the first part - that in the long run, ethics is of self-interest. They give examples of constitutional rights and the hypocratic oath as evidence of ethical 'rules' and norms in our society that protect us as individuals. That, the authors claim, is a benefit of ethical decision making that benefits the self. The second part to the question is that of the flip side: that we have a responsibility to behave ethically to others. This reciprocity, as studied in the field of communication, is what ultimately constitutes social norms of public behavior. I speak largely in class about our perceived 'rights' are reach only as far as the tip of the nose of another person - then 'responsiblities' begin. It is our right to have free speech, it is our responsibility to use it ethically. It is my right to have as many children as I want, It is my responsibility to be able to provide and care for them. It is my right to drink alcohol, it is my responsibility to not harm others. We bring up rights...responsibilities dyads and discuss them at great length. It is the ultimate concensus that ethical practices, at their core, are to everyone's benefit. The beginning story of 9/11 heroes putting others before themselves, isn't really in contrast with the 'self-interest' piece once put into context. Specifically, the book references how Burnett's wife told him to 'sit down and not bring attention to himself' and he told her 'no'. Burnett then purportedly helped or led others to attempt to take over the plane. Per the intention of the piece, Burnett could have easily sat back and done nothing - hoping that someone else would risk being killed. However, the piece asserts, Burnett felt a need for ethical responsibilty. Rights and Responsibilities either or - nor does the book suggest that, but rather a relational dialectic. Thus, the 9/11 piece was intended to serve as an example of that dialectic. Of course, all of this is discussed in less than 2 pages. The rest of the chapter is primarily concerned with the practical applications of ethics in public speaking. Ethical behavior increases trust, which increases credibility. We discuss ways to increase our perceived ethical value, as well as the relativism (whether culturally, personally) that makes ethics such a gray and wonderful topic to discuss. As public speakers, the ethical responsiblity of a speaker is to provide true, creidble evidence, to treat people as ends, not means, and to invoke participatory democracy. Of course, issues of plagerism, source atribution, civility and the use of fear are also explored. And this is just general education - graduate level and more advanced level classes are specifically geared to understanding various facets of ethical speaking. And of course, I teach that language by itself is neutral, amoral. It's the people who perceive and create meaning...which can be quite dangerous and ambiguous for pervasive communication. Thus, the ethical need primarily in public speaking is to be clear and credible. Sorry for the length. I just felt a need to put the commentary in context from my perspective.
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