To what degree is technology in the form of products and processes capable of contributing human enhancement and wellbeing?In cases where the impact of a technology on society is not only very negligible but overall negative and harmful, what is technology good for?To answer these questions, Spence develops and applies a normative model based on rationalist and virtue ethics as well as stoic philosophy. Its primary purpose is to determine the essential conditions that any n...

This book offers an innovative approach to evaluating information and knowledge and its relation to the good life, in the Age of Autonomous Intelligent Machines, through the concept of Wisdom. Wisdom is understood as a type of meta-information and meta-knowledge, which comprises epistemic, ethical, and eudaimonic features, and provides a direct conceptual and practical link between the concepts of information, intelligence, knowledge, the good life, and wellbeing. More generally, it provid...

This book provides an applied model of corruption to identify, analyse, and assess the ethics of major types of corruption in the media involving practices such as cash-for-comment, media release journalism, including video news releases (VNRs), fake news, deep fakes, and staged news. The book starts with a conceptual philosophical analysis of corruption in general, followed by an in-depth analysis of media corruption, across its various transformations, from the legacy media of the 4th Es...

Media, Markets, and Morals provides an original ethical framework designed specifically for evaluating ethical issues in the media, including new media. The authors apply their account of the moral role of the media, in their dual capacity as information providers for the public good and as businesses run for profit, to specific morally problematic practices and question how ethical behavior can be promoted within the industry.Brings together experts in the fields of...

This book is a collection of twelve essays devoted to Michael Boylan's important work in moral philosophy,A Just Society. The collection is thematically organized to mirror Boylan's own volume, so the first half explores fundamental issues of justification in ethics while the second half focuses on issues involving ethical discourse, social justice, and the moral foundations of public policy. In their critical and engaging essays, the authors challenge many of the original and con...

"Elliott and Spence have produced a tight, teachable, and timely primer on media ethics for users and creators of information in the digital age. Pitched at just the right depth of detail to provide a big picture contextualization of changing media practices grounded in concerns for democracy and the public good, the book explores and reflects the implications of the convergence of the Fourth and Fifth Estates with an open-access, hyper-linked architecture which invites self-reflective pra...

This insightful essay collection probes the vitality of British theatre, weighing critics roles against commercial pressures stifling originality while championing a national stage alive with modern aspirations. Its preface voices cautious optimism amid concerns over stagnant traditions and mass tastes dictating playhouses, urging bolder artistic expression beyond gossip-driven reviews. Themes of renewal versus stagnation dominate, contrasting jaded criticism with fresh talent cultivation,...

As one of the most important ethicists to emerge since the Second World War, Alan Gewirth continues to influence philosophical debates concerning morality. This book provides a picture of Gewirth's theory and its applications, including such new perspectives as feminism, the Stoics, and Sartre.

In this book, Spence critiques the tendencies of contemporary theater critics, both in the mainstream press and among intellectual circles, exploring how their opinions affected the success or failure of plays, actors, and playwrights. He touches on the relationship between the theater and the public, arguing that critics often wield disproportionate influence over the artistic direction of theater, sometimes to the detriment of creativity and innovation. Spence suggests that the theater, ...

The discipline of sociology was born-and has been recurrently reconstituted-in response to the fragmentation of ideas about the social world. For two centuries, sociologists have sought refuge in "synthesis:" programs designed to integrate multiple perspectives within a unifying framework. Yet even as this cause has inspired many of the discipline's major thinkers, past and present, its objective has proven elusive, leaving nearly as many syntheses as synthesizers. This volume considers an...

This book offers a practical guide for creating, funding, and growing a communication or media research lab. Drawing on the insights of experienced lab directors, it covers essential steps—from defining a mission and securing space to navigating funding and fostering a collaborative, inclusive culture that supports innovation.The book is divided into two sections. Section 1 explores reasons for starting a lab, introduces the design thinking process, and presents 10 practical tips f...

Modern technology has changed the way we live, work, play, communicate, fight, love, and die. Yet few works have systematically explored these changes in light of their implications for individual and social welfare. How can we conceptualize and evaluate the influence of technology on human well-being? Bringing together scholars from a cross-section of disciplines, this volume combines an empirical investigation of technology and its social, psychological, and political effects, and a phil...