Privacy and Philosophy

Andrew McStay (PhD, University of West London) is Senior Lecturer in Media Culture at Bangor University. He is the author of Digital Advertising (2009); The Mood of Information: A Critique of Online Behavioural Advertising (2011) and Creativity and Advertising: Affect, Events and Process (2013).

• Contents: Aristotle, borders and the coming of the social – Liberalism, consent and the problem of seclusion – Utilitarianism, radical transparency and moral truffles – Pragmatism: Jettisoning normativity – Heidegger (Part 1): Concerning a-historical being and events – Heidegger (Part 2): On moods and empathic media – Latour: Raising the profile of immaterial actants – Phenomenology: The rise of intentional machines – The subject: Caring for what is public – Alienation: The value in being public – Spinoza: Politics of affect – Whitehead: Privacy events – Community facts.

«Contemporary privacy issues tend to be discussed in legal, policy or sociological terms. McStay adds a welcome philosophical context to this discussion. Impressively erudite, Privacy and Philosophy takes the reader on a trans-century tour that enlarges our understanding of the idea and its implications.» (Joseph Turow, The Annenberg School for Communication)«More than at any other time in recent history we are confronted with the pressing questions and contradictions raised by the notion of privacy – and McStay’s brilliantly illuminating philosophical tour of the concept provides thoughtful and original answers that will serve as touchstones for discussions of privacy in the era of Facebook, NSA data mining and beyond.» (Mark Andrejevic, The University of Queensland)«The book gives a very original and kaleidoscopic perspective on the notion of privacy in an age of social and ubiquitous media. The well-chosen selection and in-depth discussion of evident and less evident philosophical views broadens and deepens the view on this timely and intensely discussed issue. Especially the framing of privacy as an affective set of protocols within the social realm offers relevant and refreshing insights.» (Jo Pierson, Associate Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (iMinds-SMIT))«Offering a fresh and authoritative take on an established concept, McStay avoids the trap of only asking what philosophy can tell us about privacy, but also considers what privacy can tell us about epistemology, ontology and metaphysics. This is an important contribution to our understanding of how privacy and publicity operate in culture today.»(Clare Birchall, King’s College, London)