Ethics 3: pg 81-121

Nazi Records: The Origin and Use of Information
- will illustrate potential ethical pitfalls
- distinguishing feature of humankind: language and a sense of ethical responsibility
- technical documents are not ethically neutral
1st example: whether information obtained illegally and unethically by Nazi "researchers" should be disseminated and used
2nd example: examine a specific Nazi technical document- illustrates interplay between values and language
Origination, Dissemination, and Use of Information
- purpose: to show that ethical considerations apply not only to the document itself or its content but also to how the informational content was obtained and how it likely will be used
Nazi Past
Nuremberg Trials- held after WWII involving Nazi leaders for war crimes against civilians and soldiers
new term- genocide- Nazi crimes against humanity and Jewish people
concentration camps- meant to isolate undesirables from general populace
Controversy in the Present
- controversy about Nazi "scientific" information collected unethically
- ex: medical specimens of human organs
Medical Specimens
- some skeletons used in universities in Germany had been gathered from Nazi camps
- there was no informed consent
"Research" Information
ex: hypothermia experiment information being used now to develop survival equipment
NEMJ decided to not use any information gathered unethically
- some proposed that the research be used to give meaning to the victims suffering
Values in Nazi Medical "Science"
Traditional View-
- there were 7X more physicians in Nazi party than other professions
in reference to this: Robert Jay Lifton- "The healer became the killer, and healing became killing."
- masked language played an important role in communication about medical killing
- "Euthanasia"(mercy killing) and "special treatment" (medical killing)
Nazi Antiscience
- beyond racism- some believe that the horrible activities can be explained through inhumaneness and unethicalness of science itself
"objectivization"- treating people as objects
Research in the United States
-if evidence was illegally obtained, it cannot be used
- Miranda rights- without proper awareness of one's rigthts so as to allow informed consert to obtaint he evidence, the evidence is deemed inadmissible
Tuskegee syphilis experiment- 1920s- African American patients were given placebos as an experiment
- many tech. communicators will not be involved in Nazi/Tuskegee research projects, but many situations involve the means and ends ethical tainting technical information
- this information should not be communicated
Nazi Technical Memorandum
memo from death camp
- talk about people using impersonal, technical language
ex: 97,000..., subjects, cargo area, load, reduction of volume
- technically excellent
Nazi Germany- distinction between means and ends became blurred and they tried to do anything that was technically possible
- modern high technology is being consumed for its own sake
- documents are written in passive voice, no compassion
- emotional and ethical distance from writer and subject
Graphical Images
- racial purity
- studied facial features of Jews
Ethical Appraisal
- inadequate to call Nazi actions "unethical"
Aristotle- condemn Nazi regime, goodness and doing the right thing; use info- could achieve greater good
Kant- assumes equivalence of all people; not sure about using info
Utilitarianism- seeks greatest good, would use info- communicating to others would only yield positive benefits
Feminist, Ethics of Care- Authoritarianism (Nazi regime is example) is criticized by feminists; also Nazi showed uncaring attitude; Use information because this would display caring concern for those now living