Saturday, 16 November 2013

LECTURE NOTES - ETHICS: WHAT IS GOOD?

Fundamentally unfair society
Capitalism is unequal
Exploitation


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
First Things First Manifesto
Garland 1964
Signed by famous designers, advertisers and art directors of the time
Produced in the boom of consumerism
Creative designers were waiting their talents marketing frivolous products
Implies advertising is the fun of life
Unethical to waist talent in pointless endeavours


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reworked in 2000
Adbusters
Explicitly anti capitalist
Abolition of the consumer system
Middle class
Republish
Redraft
Change of tone

Critical and venomous towards advertising
- Capitalist system 
- Advertising is what design is perceived to be

Subverts
-  All indoctrinated that is manufacturing demand for rubbish
- Complicit in a system of exploitation
- Global exploitation
- Effecting the way people feel, speak, interact and respond
- More pressing matters that require expertise and help
- Preachy//dictatorial
- If you work to advertise companies who make consumer items you are being unethical
- Because you are perpetuating consumerism
- Shouldn't be doing this and using talents to smash capitalism and start a revolution
 
Culture-jamming
Buy nothing day
Visual communication and anti capitalist politics
 
Most signees of the 2000 manifesto were already rich and therefore don't have to worry 
about paying the bill and don't need to worry about work and money. 
Young and new designers often don't have a choice who they work for. 
 
Meme warfare 
Kale Lasn
 
Circulate through the world
If the message was something else what could/would happen
 
System of capitalism with the dogma of anti capitalism 
 
Victor Papanek
Design for the real world
Cry for ethics
World rotten from the core?
Sees a grander purpose for us
Car bumper 1971
Prior to technology to create modern bumpers
Drove car into sennet building
Prove that talents are being waisted and ignoring design solutions for profit
The design problem triangle
Only deal with the sexy aesthetic issues rather than the bigger problem
Only tinkering on the surface
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHAT IS GOOD?
 
Way of working that is ethical and a way of working that is unethical
 
Theories:
 
Subjective Relativism
- No universal moral norms of right and wrong
- Society would completely break down
- All decide right and wrong for themselves
 
Cultural Relativism
- What's right or wrong depending on place and/or time
- Space for exclusivity is limited
 
Divine Command Theory
- Good actions aligned with the will of god
- Bad actions are contrary to the will of god
- Holy book helps make decisions
 




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kantianism
- people's wills should be based on moral rule
- important that our actions are based on appropriate moral rules
- Immanuel Kant proposed two Categorical Imperatives
 
1
Act only from. Moral rules that you can at the same time universalise.
- If you act on a moral rule that  would cause problems if everyone followed it then your actions are not normal.
 
2
Act so that you always treat both yourself and other people as ends in themselves, and never only as a means to 
an ends.
- If you use people for your own benefit that is not normal.
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Utilitarianism 

Use in society
If it increases total happiness it is ethical
If it doesn't it is unethical
Broad



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ethical vs desirable
 
Acting ethically sacrifices your liberty
 
Social Contract Theory
If everyone did what ever they want you are left with something akin to the state of nature
Implicit agreement
For the common good
To be ethical is to think about the common good rather than yourself



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Margaret Thatcher
'no such thing as society' 
 
Formulation about thinking whether what you to is ethical or not
Workable ethical theory for ourselves
 
Socially and ecologically responsible design
- Acting ethically
- Papanek radio
- Help and provide solutions that could be done themselves
- Workable radio made from rubbish from the streets of Africa
- Proposal for a radio that anyone can make
- No profit
- No individual gain
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Social tithe
- Something you give away for free
- Common good
- Designers should do this
- 10% of time to worthwhile ethical causes
- All have to live and eat
 
 




 

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