et forces encourage economies of scale that, on a
per-unit cost, reduce prices to make movie tickets, legal music downloads like iTunes,
and software affordable to all. Consumers, after all, are buying the right to enjoy the
product, not to distribute copies themselves.
Critics of copyright argue that it represents an obstacle to the creative development of
the culture. But Adkinson counters by asserting that the ideas that derive from reading, watching, or listening to others’ works are in free circulation from the moment we
experience them. The only restriction is on the copying of the actual products
themselves, that is, not the intellectual or creative inspiration that follows from their
consumption.
Adkinson concludes:
“… the fact remains that the vast majority of us… are overwhelmingly consumers of
culture, enjoying the works created by those willing to invest their talents, energy and
money in creating music, movies, games, and other forms of digital entertainment
products. The Copy Leftists are entitled to their vision, and in fact the digital revolution
greatly expands the possibility for interactivity. But they can and should pursue this
vision without undermining the copyright system that enables us to enjoy a
cornucopia of entertainment and cultural works.”
Unit 5: Week 10 Communication and Ethics
Keywords:
. Pragmatism
. public sphere (Habermas)
. communicative rationality (Habermas)
. instrumental rationality (英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】Habermas)
. dependency effect (Galbraith)
. phishing
1. Context and Perspective: Pragmatism
"
We only think when we are confronted with a problem."
John Dewey, Pragmatist, 1859-1952
a. background to Pragmatism
The Wikipedia defines Pragmatism as follows: “Pragmatism is a school of philosophy that originated in the United States in the late
1800s. Pragmatism is characterized by the insistence on consequences, utility and
practicality as vital components of truth. Pragmatism objects to the view that human
concepts and intellect alone accurately represent reality, and therefore stands in
opposition to both formalist and rationalist schools of philosophy. Rather, pragmatism
holds it is only in the struggle of intelligent organisms with the surrounding
environment that theories and data acquire significance.”
Pragmatism should not be confused with the popular idea of being “pragmatic”—that is,
practical—though the school of thought and the common word are semantically related
to one another. Pragmatism is an early twentieth
century body of philosophical thought
with a significant interest in communication, and a school that has enjoyed a revival in
recent years. Pragmatism is a school of thought in communication studies with an
impressive philosophical pedigree, yet with a highly refined ethical sense. Reconciling
heart and mind, pragmatists like John Dewey, William James, C.S. Pierce, and others
committed to the reform of A
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