An Eye for an Eye: Proportionality and Surveillance
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 18 (3):529-548 (2015)
Abstract
It is often claimed that surveillance should be proportionate, but it is rarely made clear exactly what proportionate surveillance would look like beyond an intuitive sense of an act being excessive. I argue that surveillance should indeed be proportionate and draw on Thomas Hurka’s work on proportionality in war to inform the debate on surveillance. After distinguishing between the proportionality of surveillance per se, and surveillance as a particular act, I deal with objections to using proportionality as a legitimate ethical measure. From there I argue that only certain benefits and harms should be counted in any determination of proportionality. Finally I look at how context can affect the proportionality of a particular method of surveillance. In conclusion, I hold that proportionality is not only a morally relevant criterion by which to assess surveillance, but that it is a necessary criterion. Furthermore, while granting that it is difficult to assess, that difficulty should not prevent our trying to do soAuthor's Profile
DOI
10.1007/s10677-014-9537-5
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Citations of this work
Mass Surveillance: A Private Affair?Kevin Macnish - 2020 - Moral Philosophy and Politics 7 (1):9-27.
The teleological account of proportional surveillance.Frej Klem Thomsen - 2020 - Res Publica (3):1-29.
Out of Proportion? On Surveillance and the Proportionality Requirement.Kira Vrist Rønn & Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen - 2020 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 23 (1):181-199.
The concepts of surveillance and sousveillance: A critical analysis.Frej Klem Thomsen - 2019 - Social Science Information 58 (4):701-713.
A Neo-Republican Theory of Just State Surveillance.Patrick Taylor Smith - 2020 - Moral Philosophy and Politics 7 (1):49-71.
References found in this work
The Right and the Good.Some Problems in Ethics.W. D. Ross & H. W. B. Joseph - 1933 - Journal of Philosophy 30 (19):517-527.
Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations.Barrie Paskins & Michael Walzer - 1981 - Philosophical Quarterly 31 (124):285.
Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations.Michael Walzer - 1979 - Science and Society 43 (2):247-249.