Philosophy

Towards a Political Philosophy of Content Moderation

Within the last decade, content moderation has become a central feature of social media. As a result, the flow of information to which citizens are exposed is now heavily controlled by private actors. Which problems does this pose for democracy (if any)? While some worry that content moderation amounts to a new form of political domination or threatens our fundamental right to free speech, others point out that problematic content such as misinformation, hate speech or deep fakes must be regulated if democracy is to function well. This discussion will focus on the difficult question of determining how content moderation can be reconciled with freedom and self-government.

About Étienne Brown
Étienne Brown is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at San José State University, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Broadly construed, his research interests are within political philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of technology, with a current focus on the regulation of speech on social media. Recently, he has written about the philosophical implications of misinformation, fake news and internet trolling. He is the author of Moral Judgement: An Introduction Through Anglo-American, German and French Philosophy.
 

Must We Degrade? Human Dignity and the American Prison

This discussion will consider the nature and justification of punishment in the American criminal justice system.  Punishment in prisons, particularly maximum-security prisons, can be deeply degrading, subjecting people to brutal and harsh conditions.  What is the ethical justification for treating people this way? To explore this question, we will discuss different meanings of the concept of human dignity, using them to ethically evaluate contemporary American punishment.  The presenter will also draw on his experience of teaching philosophy in prisons and jails.  

About Derek Jeffreys
Derek S. Jeffreys is Professor of Humanities and Religion at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.  He did both his B.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.  His research focuses on ethics and violence, and he is author of four books. His latest is America’s Jails: The Search for Human Dignity in an Age of Mass Incarceration.  For almost a decade, he has offered volunteer religion and philosophy lectures to inmates in the Green Bay Correctional Institution and the Brown County Jail. He is also a religious volunteer at the Green Bay Correctional Institution.

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