As impressions grow that privacy is under increasing threat, the sphere of private life has needed to reassert itself, yet efforts to this end are beset with numerous difficulties, including the ways in which the private sphere has for centuries been understood and misunderstood. While Public/Private takes up a broadly liberal perspective, it endeavors to reach beyond an audience of liberal theorists to include other political orientations and philosophical traditions. Fairfield examines the ethical-political significance as well as the policy implications of a right to privacy. Discussing the different applications of privacy laws, technology, property, relationships, Fairfield writes in a style accessible to specialists and students alike.
Paul Fairfield is assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Philosophy, Queens University, Canada.
Part 1 Negotiating a DistinctionChapter 2 The Public/Private Dichotomy and its CriticsChapter 3 Why Privacy?Chapter 4 Definitions and IssuesPart 5 Privacy in an Age of InformationChapter 6 The Emergence of a ProblemChapter 7 Technology, Information, and PowerChapter 8 PrinciplesChapter 9 Privacy and Medical RecordsPart 10 Political Philosophy in the BedroomChapter 11 Political MoralismChapter 12 Privacy and Intimate RelationsChapter 13 Civil Rights and Sexual OrientationChapter 14 Same-Sex MarriageChapter 15 Which Family? Whose Values?Part 16 Property and the Private SphereChapter 17 DomicileChapter 18 Property Rights and AgencyChapter 19 Moral SpacesChapter 20 Intellectual Property RightsPart 21 Revelation
Paul Fairfield provides a multidimensional analysis of the venerable distinction between the public and the private. His skillful defense of the right of privacy is thoughtful, well-informed, and well-argued in this important book.