The development of digital technologies and social media is leading to rapid changes in traditional power dynamics, allowing more of us to share our opinions, publicise our ideas and contribute to public debate - with all its ambiguities. We spoke to PD Dr Gotlind Ulshöfer about her work in developing an ethics of power for the digital age.
ETHICS
Many different conceptions
of power have been developed over the course of history, with thinkers throughout the ages exploring the underlying ethical foundations of power. With the development of new digital technologies widening access to information and dramatically changing conventional power relationships, Dr Gotlind Ulshöfer is looking again at an ethics of power. “There are essentially two parts to this project. There’s a theoretical part, where I discuss the meaning of power and its ethical dimensions from a theological point of view. Power there is seen
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a classical definition of power, for example described in the work of the sociologist Max Weber. But if you look at the work of Michel Foucault, or Hannah Arendt, they also examine other dimensions of power, including the communal side,” continues Dr Ulshöfer. “Part of the project is about looking at which meaning of power is relevant in which context.” The pace of technological development is an important consideration in this respect. While the traditional media still play a central role in shaping debate and creating the public sphere, the growth of social media means
First of all, I aim to identify the important ethical questions around these technological developments and look at their influence on society. From there, we can then start to intensify considerations of the normative questions. more in the sense of empowerment, or in service to others,” she says. The second part of the project centres around what Dr Ulshöfer describes as fields of reference, for example power dynamics in the sharing economy, or in the use of data, or in social media. “I am looking for example at issues around online influence and the use of data,” she says.
Power dynamics This latter point is very much a modern concern, yet Dr Ulshöfer believes that traditional ethical frameworks and theological concepts are still relevant in examining contemporary power dynamics. With a background in theology and economics, Dr Ulshöfer draws on established ideas on ethics and justice to develop a new understanding of power. “It’s important to look at this from an ethical point of view,” she says. Part of the project centres on looking at different definitions of power. “There is
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more and more people today have a platform to share their opinions, which has positive as well as negative effects on the creation and style of debate in the public sphere, for example with hate speech. “Nowadays there are more outlets than ever before,” acknowledges Dr Ulshöfer. With technological change continuing apace, Dr Ulshöfer believes it’s important to consider the ethical implications and impact of new technologies on power dynamics, a topic that is central to her research. The different power players like big internet companies and quasimonopolists are also important considerations in research, as well as individuals like influencers and the phenomenon of ‘the crowd’. “First of all, I aim to identify the important ethical questions around these technological developments and look at their influence on society,” she outlines. “From there, we can then start to intensify considerations of the normative questions,
and look at issues from more of a theological perspective.” This could then provide a basis for Dr Ulshöfer to analyse ethical questions around changes in power relations and contribute to the literature. In particular, Dr Ulshöfer aims to contribute to literature of theological ethics and also to the public discourse concerning questions around power. “I aim to develop perspectives on power and how to deal with it from an ethical point of view,” she outlines.
Ethics of Power The project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and implemented at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at Tübingen University, Germany. Project Coordinator, Privatdozentin Dr Gotlind Ulshöfer Eberhard Karls Universität Evangelisch-theologische Fakultät Liebermeisterstraße 12 D -72076 Tübingen T: +49 7071 297 2591 E: gotlind.ulshoefer@unituebingen.de W: http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/ de/48956
PD Dr Gotlind Ulshöfer is a researcher with a Heisenberg-grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft at Tübingen University, Germany. She holds diplomas in theology and economics and a dissertation and habilitation in Protestant theology. She has studied at the universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, Jerusalem and Princeton Theological Seminary.
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