Ethics and Communication: Global Perspectives

How can ethics be communicated in an age of globalisation? Is it possible to overcome cultural differences and agree on common values and principles that cross cultural borders? How does globalisation challenge ethics and established moral traditions? How are human rights justified in a global context? This timely collection of essays responds directly to these questions. An international team of contributors pursue issues in ethics, information and communication that include both the classical question of the universality/contextuality of ethics and values, but also new challenges for communication relating to how values and norms are communicated and shared across cultural and political borders. The essays in this book explore theoretical questions of global ethics and ethical universalism, ethics and communication with reference to specific world views and religions, and the challenge of globalisation for ethical communication in particular social arenas.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Ethics and Communication – Global Perspectives, Göran Collste / Part I Theory / 2. Global Ethics: A Framework for Thinking about Communication, Nigel Dower / 3. Treacherous Tropes: How Ethicists Communicate, Maren Behrensen / Part II Ethics Across Religious and Cultural Borders / 4. "Western" Versus "Islamic" Human Rights Conceptions? A Critique of Cultural Essentialism in the Discussion on Human Rights, Heiner Bielefeldt / 5. Peng Chun Chang, Intercultural Ethics and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Hans Ingvar Roth / 6. Critical Thinking and Culture: Shared Values, Different Guises, Soraj Hongladarom / 7. Religious Transcendence: Hope for Global Communication Ethics, Peter Gan / Part III Ethics and Communication: Case Studies / 8. Communication Ethics in Japan: A Socio-cultural Perspective on Privacy in the Networked World, Kiyoshi Murata and Yohko Orito / 9. What is the Critical Role of Intercultural Information Ethics?, Elin Palm / Bibliography / Index / Notes on Contributors

About the Author :
Göran Collste is a Professor at the Centre for Applied Ethics at Linköping University, Sweden. He is the author of Global Rectificatory Justice (2015) and Is Human Life Special? (2004) and was until 2015 President of Societas Ethica (European Society for Research in Ethics). Contributors: Maren Behrensen, Lecturer at the Centre for Applied Ethics, Linköping University, Sweden ; Heiner Bielefeldt, Professor of Human Rights and Human Rights Policy, University of Erlangen, Germany; Nigel Dower, Honorary Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, UK; Peter Gan, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University Science of Malaysia; Kiyoshi Murata, Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics, Meiji University, Japan; Yohko Orito, Faculty of Law and Letters, Ehime University, Japan;Elin Palm, Assistant Professor, Centre for Applied Ethics, Linköping University, Sweden; Hans Ingvar Roth, Professor of Human Rights, Institute for Turkish Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Review :
How are values and norms communicated in a globalised world? What happens to a value like privacy when Facebook is introduced in Japan? How do social medias challenge shared and divergent values across particular societies? This anthology brings contributions by European and Asian scholars, who question issues like the East/West dichotomy, the need for consensus and problems of epistemic injustice. This is an excellent and timely book which addresses one of the most pressing issues in ethics today. The varied backgrounds of the authors provide many valuable insights and this together with the extremely useful introduction make this book essential reading for those working in global ethics. I would also highly recommend it for students in this field. An outstanding volume that covers a wide range of issues at the intersection of ethics, communication and globalization. It covers not only many issues in the ethics of (intercultural) communication, but also fundamental issues at the intersection of ethics and culture and applied issues in the communication and teaching of ethics. The question at the centre of the book – whether it is possible to find common values and principles across cultures – is one that many actors in politics, business and society must address in their personal and professional endeavours. The answers provided here, though not definitive, point the way to a more considered approach to living in a globalised world. For communicators it is a thoughtful reminder for those whose work travels across borders or appears on a global stage about the need to keep cultural sensitivities in mind and search for a point of connection.