15. Compare communication ethics of Confucianism and Hinduism with the Western notion of ethical communication.

• WEST

1. Communicator ethics.

• Ethics is what contributes to the well-being of others, to happiness and fulfillment as human beings. (Nilsen and Rader)

• Concept of “Ethnical contract”– requires a fundamental implied and unspoken assumption that words can be trusted and people will be truthful (Richard Johannesen)

• Truthfulness is a significant criterion for determining morally right communication. (Jaska and Pritchard)

• Implicit – in the ethical criteria is the notion that the center of ethical decisions is the impact of behavior on human beings-their happiness, their feelings and thoughts, their personal and social relations

• All these implicit assumptions spring from a Judeo - Christian tradition that bifurcates the relationships between God, people, and nature: God is infinite, humans – finite beings with soul, nature has no soul and is material. Soul – the spiritual side of being that gives rise to ethics and ethical judgment (Robert Wargo)

• Only Human beings possess reason and can choose to make good or bad decision. Free will separates human from the rest nature and makes ethical choice possible.

(Many Eastern ethical systems neither bifurcate human beings and nature nor reserve soul (spirit) for humans or make reason and free will an essential human capacity. In fact, Shintoism (dominant ethical system in Japan)- has no concept of good or evil, invests humans and the natural order with spirits, and removes reason and free will from ethical choices (Little, 1974))

2. Message Ethics

• Information is key to developing ethical messages, for it provides listeners with the ability to make voluntary choices based on the facts. Similarly, the willingness of communicators to disclose their intentions and goals helps to expand listener choice.

• Reasons and logic are critical dimensions of ethical messages

(Intellect and reason- hallmarks of Western civilization- are rejected in traditional Islamic ethical philosophy. Intellectualism in Islamic ethics is “a sin against human nature…”; openness, disclosure, and authenticity-important Western communicator ideals- are simply not valued in Islamic and Hindu ethical systems. Unlike Western cultures, Hindu and Islamic societies do not revere the individual; hence, they are not grounded in an ethical communicative assumption that each person ought to have optimum information to choose logically between alternative positions.)

3. Receiver and Audience Ethics

• Listeners, regardless of their ethnicity, social class, race, or gender, ought to have equal access to information to make choices.

Nilsen: “The ethical touchstone is the degree of free, informal, rational, and critical choice-significant choice- that is fostered by our speaking”

• As a result, sexism, classism, ageism, or other forms of discriminatory language and messages are considered unethical. Johannesen: “these messages demean other people through embodying unfair negative value judgment concerning traits, capacities, and accomplishment”.

(Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islamic philosophy implicitly give certain listeners and audience more social value than others (Little & Summer, 1978). Often these social hierarchies are based on age, class, gender, and familial affiliations, and they regulate the frequency and content of listener and audience communication.)

(Communicational ethics in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia ought to reflect the dominant philosophy or religion.)

• CONFUCIANISM

1. Communicator ethics.

• Tied to the concept of Li (set of rituals and social practices defined by Confucius, which derived from a central premise in Confucian thought: Obligation to parents and family is the reason of human existence)

• Family is at the center of Confucian thought

• The ethical communicator is someone motivated by proper duty (yi) to one’s parents and family first, and then the society at large. The Chinese concept of Jen (доброжелательность) guides the ethical communicator to choose actions and attitudes that reveal a general concern for all people while reserving greatest Jen for the family

• Reverence for parents and elders is central to Confucianism and communicators are judged as moral or ethical based on this criterion (ksiao (уважение к родителям), ti (уважение к старшим))

2. Message Ethics

• Message can only be judged ethical if it displays Jen (benevolence) for the community and family. Messages that focus on personal profit or benefit are too self-centered to be considered ethical (Reason, logic, evidence, and truthfulness are not the criteria for determining whether or not a message is ethical)

• All messages should demonstrate a reverence for aging and the aged to be considered ethical

• Places heart at the center of ethical behavior. Reasons alone is insufficient because it fosters independent thinking and action rather than relying on a “sovereign”- a respected elder who guides one’s behavior and messages

3. Receiver and Audience Ethics

• All listeners are not equal in Confucian philosophy- there is clearly a hierarchy of listener importance based on a listener’s age, gender, family status, and authority role (Tu Wei-ming, 1976)

• Parents and elder brothers, males, older persons, teachers are highly regarded

• Who the listener is ought to determine what is communicated, how much is revealed, the level of respect accorded to the receiver, and whether communication is one-way or two-way process

• HINDUISM

1. Communicator ethics.

• Dharma (foundation of all Indian thought and action) - prescribes the ideals for human life in this world, people’s relations with others, the duties of cast, and the stages of life. (regulate human affairs)

• Yamas – bad habits; Niyamas-good habits; Vedas – inquiry into Dharma (one learns Hindu ethical behavior that can purify individuals in this life and the lives to come.

• The ethical communicator ought to be influenced by dharma in thought and action (it (dharma) comments implicitly on duties required of individuals in their different stages of life)

• It is critical to understand one’s own role in social institution and the roles of others to formulate ethical messages and behave ethically (Dasgutta, 1961). (For example, the ethical communicator should construct messages that are appropriate for the caste one represents and the caste with which one is communicating)

• Class, gender, age, social position play important roles in dharma

• Karma- moral climate, influenced by personal actions that are either compatible or incompatible with dharma. Communicators ought to be conscious of their behavior to influence karma positively.

2. Message Ethics

• Reason is not the touchstone for determining value or truth. Emotion, subconscious connections through yoga, and deep spiritual reflection are truly the paths to truth and enlightenment.

• Ethical messages should in some way move people closer to Moksha (salvation)

• Ethical messages differentiate between listeners and should be adapted to a receiver’s position, class, caste, gender and age.

3. Receiver and Audience Ethics

• Listeners are not equal

• Varna dharma prescribes duties that are caste- and class- related and I defines the relationship and communication between castes

• Purity- central concept, influenced by past lives and bodily functions (Women are more impure)

• Communication are obligated to interact differently with castes and genders