Philosophical and Ethical Concepts - Essay Example

Philosophical and Ethical Concepts of Learning Part I: Question B Similar to any sphere of professional activity, journalism involves the use of a specific code of ethics, which is designed to provide a high level of journalism. The Code of Ethics from the Society of Professional Journalists (2014) suggests four main components that should be used by journalists in their professional activities. The first component requires journalists to search for and provide relevant and accurate information of social, political, religious or other nature. In this regard, a journalist should always apply to reliable sources of information that can guarantee its veracity. This obliges the journalist to show a responsible attitude to the choice of a source of information. In addition, journalists need to follow the rules for presentation the material, regardless of its form (text, pictures, video and audio recordings, etc.). The method of presentation should not distort it. The second component requires journalists to take into account the fact that their readers are primarily ordinary people who are able not only to rejoice, but also to suffer. In this regard, journalists should do everything possible to make their information as harmless as possible. The information provided by them must not cause moral, physical or psychological harm to their readers. The third basic principle of the Code requires the professional freedom and independence of journalists, who are required to provide objective information. Journalists should not use their professional opportunities for profit or blackmail. Finally, the fourth principle states that journalists should "be accountable" ("Code of Ethics," 2014). This means that the activities of journalists should be assessed and to some extent controlled by their readership, as well as by their team. This will help avoid a lot of unpleasant consequences caused by incorrect behavior and performance of professional duties on the part of the journalist. Analysis of the Code of Ethics provides one with the opportunity to conclude that it is more closely related to Libertarian Theory rather than to Authoritarian Theory, because its basic idea is to justify the freedom and independence of journalists. To verify this, one needs to analyze the features of both theories as applied to the field of mass media. Libertarian Theory is based on the notion of Freedom of Speech and Press. As a result, it defines journalism as a sphere, which should be based primarily on the freedom of journalists on the theme and methods of supplying information. "Libertarianism grants a totally free press upholding that people are inherently rational truth-seekers." ("Normative Theory," 2012). Thus, the responsibility rests not so much on the journalist as a source of information as to the reader who is the recipient of the information. Based on this logic, the reader is responsible for the perception of information, which is transmitted by the mass media. In turn, Authoritarian Theory suggests that the activities of journalists should be controlled by the government that monitors their compliance with certain standards and criteria. Authoritarian Theory justifies the following elements of the state intervention in the field of journalism and mass media (“Normative Theory,” 2012): 1) The government has the right to punish a journalist, whose actions are contrary to the fundamentals of the state ideology; 2) Media professionals are deprived of any kind of professional independence; 3) It is up to the state to register the media. In contrast to Authoritarian Theory, Libertarian Theory is more successfully consistent with the Code of Ethics, as its basic meaning is the assertion of independence and autonomy of journalism and journalists. In my opinion, the Code of Ethics should be used rather by supporters of Libertarian Theory than by supporters of Authoritarian Theory. The freedom of professional activity preached by them can often be associated with excess professional credentials or incorrect performing of professional duties. As a result, this practice can lead to particularly serious consequences not only to the psychological, but also to the physical security of people. Given that information is able to exert a decisive importance in different situations and among different people having their individual social, religious and other beliefs and concepts, the code requirements are particularly important to the supporters of this theory. Thus, the Code is more important to these practitioners than to the practitioners of the other theory because it focuses their attention on the need for a special responsibility and deliberate approach to their professional activity in which the autonomy and independence should not be seen as an opportunity for outrage in applying information. The Code provides ethical guidelines for the quality of work of the journalist making it capable to be useful not only for individuals but also for the whole society. One needs to remember that journalism should primarily pursue the public interest by providing people with truthful and objective information. Part II: Question B 1. Enlightenment has found its followers among both English and French thinkers, who shared similar socio-philosophical and political ideas. One can note that the philosophy of John Locke and Voltaire had many points of contact. At the heart of Lockes political philosophy, there is an idea of ​​ property (Uzgalis, 2012). The property is defined as what a person receives as a result of his/her labor. According to Locke, state and civil society are based on property. Only those who have property can be regarded as citizens. Government is based on the social contract in order to preserve the property. However, in order to make property independent from the will of the authorities, people created laws and legislation. Locke formulates one of the principles of liberalism - the principle of legality: no one can have a right to the violation of the laws (Uzgalis, 2012). Similar to Locke, his French counterpart, Voltaire saw the freedom of thought and expression an integral feature of a thinking and just society. The writer rejected all manifestations of intolerance against dissidents: the Inquisition, religious wars, and persecution of heretics. Based on his own understanding of Locke’s doctrine, “François-Marie dArouet … better known by his pen name Voltaire” came to the idea of philosophy as a great weapon in the fight against the unreasonable society (Shank, 2009). All Voltaire’s works were permeated with anti-Catholic sentiments: not denying religion as such, Voltaire demanded religious freedom. Assuming that the basis of all kinds of knowledge is experience, Voltaire believed that by nature, a man is a social being and the social sphere of human life should provide political and legal equality for people. At the same time, Voltaire regarded social and property inequalities as prerequisites for social equilibrium and the normal development of society. 2. Locke was convinced that all knowledge comes from experience (Uzgalis, 2012). Mind is a white sheet of paper, which “remembers” all that comes through sensory perception. Locke divided the ideas into simple and complex. The simple idea cannot be created out of nothing with the help of imagination, since it can only be passively perceived. The complex idea is composed of simple ideas. It can be created with imagination. With respect to the physical objects, Locke distinguished primary and secondary properties. Primary properties are presented by the shape, size, etc., while secondary - color and smell. Berkeley criticized the concept of matter as the real basics (substance) of the things. In contrast to Locke, Berkeley argued that the human mind could form a general idea of ​​things, but not the general idea of ​​matter, which does not need science and philosophy, since the idea of matter does not add anything to the properties of things beyond what a sense perception can give. Berkeley opposed the distinction of primary and secondary qualities and stated that all qualities are secondary since in reality they are reduced to the ability to be perceived. Having rejected the matter, Berkeley recognized the existence of a spiritual being. He announced that qualities of all things are subjective, and existence needs to be perceived. As a result, Berkeley reduced the physical world to the perceptions and feelings of a man. Berkeley brought empiricism to some logical conclusions. As a Christian, he was horrified by materialism, and in opposition to it he preached anti-materialism. He believed that one can only recognize the existence of the content of human experience and denied the existence of matter. Berkeley argued that the notion of things is the invention of philosophers. People only see the ideas, thus it is advisable to consider only their existence. 3. Rene Descartes entered the history of philosophy as one of the pioneers of a new philosophy, which called for a revision of the entire preceding tradition (Hatfield, 2014). The philosopher pointed to the need for a philosophy, based on the assumptions that cannot be refuted and from which one can derive the whole system of sciences. In order to find the absolute fundamental principle, Descartes proposed to use the method of doubt and immediate evidence. He stated that all existing knowledge should be questioned in order one could find these theoretical foundations. The principle of doubt was directed against blind faith and aimed at finding the most obvious and reliable knowledge. Performing this operation, Descartes received the very foundation expressed in a phrase: “Cogito ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I exist”) (Hatfield, 2014). This dictum expressed the essence of the worldview of Descartes. The truth of this statement was guaranteed by God. In turn, the major feature of the philosophical inquiry of Descartes’ opponent Denis Diderot was the approval of a monistic view on nature and human beings according to his materialist understanding of reality (Israel 2006). Diderot defended the idea of the unity of all nature and the need to interpret it without resorting to the supernatural beginning. Diderot overcame the dualistic view of nature presented by Descartes, who argued that in nature there are two main elements: matter and spirit. Diderot considered the fundamental question of philosophy - the question of the correlation between the mind and the material world - from the perspective of materialist monism. Based on the achievements of modern natural science, he treated the matter as a collection of bodies, which are characterized by length, shape, motion and impenetrability. It should be added that Diderot could not imagine the matter beyond time and space. Diderot believed that the motion could not exist without the matter. Moreover, in contrast to Descartes, Diderot rejected the idea of God as having any importance in human life and knowledge. References Code of ethics. (2014). The Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved from http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp Hatfield, G. (2014). René Descartes. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/ Israel, J. I. (2006). Enlightenment contested. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Normative theory “Authoritarian Theory.” (2012). Retrieved from http://rahib-raza.blogspot.com/2012/10/normative-theory-authoritarian-theory.html Shank, J.B. (2009). Voltaire. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/ Uzgalis, W. (2012). John Locke. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/ Read More