Theme 5 Flashcards
(32 cards)
Universal declaration of human rights
Recognition of the inherit dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
What does the general assembly proclaim
This universal declaration of human rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms.
Universal declaration of HR
Article 18 - everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change religion or beliefs.
Article 19 - Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impact information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
The constitution and bill of rights.
The constitution describes itself as the supreme law of the country, and declares anything inconsistent with it invalid.
In practical terms the bill of rights serves as a touchstones for measuring constitutionality and acceptability of laws and administrative acts of government.
Bill of rights
Primary aim is to impress on citizens of South Africa the importance of constitutional values such as freedom of expression and speech as well as the right to privacy, tolerance in the differences in race, gender and sexual orientation as well as belief and opinion.
Bill of rights, 3 things.
- Cornerstone of democracy in South Africa, it enshrines rights on all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
- The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfill the rights in the bill of rights.
- The bill of rights are subject to limitation contained or referred to in section 36.
Section 16 - Freedom of expression.
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression which includes;
1. Freedom of press and other media
2. Freedom to receive or impart information and ideas
3. Freedom of artistic creativity
4. Academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
These rights do not extend to:
1. Propaganda for war
2Incitement of imminent violence or
3 Advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.
How can one measure transparency/ democracy/freedom?
- Transparency international
- Democracy barometer.
- Global Democracy ranking.
- The economists democracy index of 2015.
Types of democracies
- Full democracies
- Flawed democracies
- Hybrid regimes
- Authoritarian regimes
Political participation, civil liberties, Media, Elections
Full democracy
- Countries with basic political freedoms and civil liberties that are underpinned by democratic political culture
- The media are independent and diverse and there is an effective system of checks and balances with an independent judiciary.
High political participation
Strong civil liberties
Independent media
Regular, fair elections
Flawed democracies
- Have free and fair elections, and basic civil liberties are respected despite infringements on media
- Weaknesses include problems in governance, an underdeveloped political culture, and low levels of political participation.
Limited political participation
Some civil liberty issues
Media may face constraints
Elections with irregularities
Hybrid regimes
- Irregularities’ prevent elections from being both fair and free.
- Weaknesses in flawed democracies are more serious in hybrid regimes.
- Civil society is weak, and there is harassment of and pressure on journalists, while judiciary is not independent.
Mix of democratic and authoritarian traits
Controlled political competition
Limited civil liberties
Media influenced by government
Authoritarian regimes
- Have no political pluralism. Many countries in this category are dictatorships.
- elections if they do occur are not free and fair and the media is either state owned or controlled by groups connected to the ruling regime.
- Government is repressed and censorship is pervasive.
Low political participation
Severe limits on civil liberties
State-controlled media
No competitive elections
Philosophical notions of information: Three historical meanings
Plato’s forms; Locke’s logic; Descartes dualism.
1.Information as the process of being informed(to inform)
2.Information as a state of an agent (have been informed)
3.Information as the disposition to inform (capacity/potential)
Modern building blocks of information:
- Information is extensive
- Information reduces uncertainty
Information as colloquial speech
Used as abstract mass noun to denote any amount of data, code or text that is stored sent received or manipulated in any medium.
Different values of information
Information ethics.
Information ethics;
Branch of applied ethics that studies what is morally good or bad, specifically in the context of the handling of information, and the information age. Deals with issues like justice, fairness, freedom and human dignity and what is morally right or wrong.
Information ethics and what is morally right or wrong, three levels.
- Macro-level: Broad social and environmental issues attributed to the features of the information age (digital divide, e-waste)
- Meso level: Questions arising in the sphere of public policy, discourse and regulation of information (censorship)
- Micro-level: The day to day handling of information throughout the information life cycle. (Plagiarism)
Information ethics include information and ICT based:
Conditions: information poverty)
Crimes (cracking)
Experiences (information overload)
Rights and responsibilities. (information privacy)
What are the three nodes of understanding freedom:
- Negative freedom
- Positive freedom
- Triadic relation:
Negative freedom: (Liberty)
Negative liberty is the absence of obstacles, barriers or constraints. One has negative liberty to the extent that actions are available to one in this negative sense. Absence of obstacles external to the agent.
Free from
Absence of something (obstacles, barriers, constraints)
ie. i freedom from someone making me do something
Positive freedom: (liberty)
Take control of ones life and realize ones fundamental purposes.
Presence of control on the part of the agent.
Free for
Require the presents of something (self mastery, self determination)
ie Are we free to do something we want.
Triadic relation:
Freedom is a triadic relation - That is a relation between three things
1 An Agent
2Certain preventing conditions
3. Certain doings or becoming’s of the agent.
