Humanist Perspective On Privacy & Freedom

This lecture Frank Furedi explains why Western society is ambivalent about the status it ought to assign privacy. He will also put forward a case for defending the private realm.

The Conway Hall Ethical Society presents
Humanist Perspective On Privacy & Freedom - Prof. Frank Furedi
The privacy of individuals, groups and of institutions is constantly tested by a variety of forces who are determined to undermine it. Yet what is remarkable about 21st century western cultural attitudes towards privacy is that the periodic expressions of outrage against its violation in some domain of life co-exist with a casual acceptance of such breaches in other spheres. Indeed, at the very least, there are as many calls to limit or to weaken the private realm as there are to defend it. This lecture explains why Western society is ambivalent about the status it ought to assign privacy. It also puts forward a case for defending the private realm.
Frank Furedi is a social commentator and author and emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury. He has written widely on the culture of fear. His studies have dealt with the way that fear has dominated discussions of childhood, health, new technology and food. His studies investigate the interaction between risk consciousness and perceptions of fear, trust relations and social capital in contemporary society. His most recent book is First World War: Still No End in Sight.

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