Communication ethics and the receiver: Outline for an ethic of planned communication

The author wants to outline a spedial ethic for planned communication, that is, to delimit the field, the ethical problem, to establish a criterion for evaluation, and show how it works. This ethic focuses exclusively on the persuasive means used to make the sender's message come across. The question is whether these rhetorical means mislead the receiver. In order to answer this question the ethical norm "fairness", defined from the viewpoint of the receiver, is proposed. It is shown how "fairness" makes us able to identify misleading means and to evaluate them on a common ethic ground.

FROM ADAM SMITH TO AMARTYA SEN: GLOBAL MARKET AS A POSSIBLE INSTRUMENT TO PROMOTE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The present paper is aimed both at analyzing how Amartya Sen’s economic and moral thought is influenced by Adam Smith’s works and at offering a perspective on global market which could be investigated through quantitative analyses. In order to achievethis purpose, the authors provide a potential definition of globalization which arises not from empirical evidences but from the analysis of the links existing betwee Adam Smith’s thought and Amartya Sen’s one. Globalization is here considered firstas a global division of labour, second as a global market where the products generated by the division of labour are exchanged, and third as a complex socio-economic phenomenon which generates positive outcomes under two conditions: on one hand, every agent has to respect the rules coming from a common ethic, and, on the otherhand, countries and International Organizations have to guarantee that every agent respects national and international laws. Therefore, the perspective on globalization here presented shows how global market could be a potential instrument to promote socio-economic development.

Limits to Growth in Elite Sport - Some Ethical Considerations

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the ethical implications and problems in elite sport as it gets closer to the human performance limit. Modern elite sport must be viewed on the background of the idea of systematic progress. The Olympic motto, 'citius, altius, fortius'- faster, higher, stronger-gives a precise concentration of this idea. Modern sport is also influenced by the liberal idea of a free market where actors can perform, compete and be rewarded according to performance. However, one may ask why and how athletes are willing to risk their health and even their life on the free market of sport when they do the extreme: push limits, break records, set new standards, develop new events. This paper discusses what may be the result as sport moves toward the limits of human performance. The ethical focus on the development of the elite sport should not be restricted to the individual athlete, but should also include the various systems that make up elite sport. Other actors, like coaches, leaders, sponsors, medical personnel, service people, etc., are taking part in the same development. One problem in the modern context is that society is divided into different moral sectors. What is accepted in entertainment or art may not be accepted in sport. It is suggested that we should develop a common ethic for all performance-centered activities like music, painting, science and research, acrobatics and stunts, acting, top politics and business. Or one could include all situations and events where people are put under extreme stress and have to perform well, like during expeditions, in idealistic humanitarian work, during hazards, and catastrophes. At the same time, one should not develop a sort of elite ethic. We need a new ethic that defines the ethical tolerance level in elite sport and that also points to some of the possibilities for development of both character and virtues under extreme pressure.