The Masquerade of Life, Our Many Selves and Issues of Privacy

Authors: Karen Armstrong

Abstract:

This paper explores the importance of privacy in a contemporary online world. Crucial to the discussion is the idea of the Lacanian postmodern fragmented self and the problem of how to ensure that we have room to fully explore various aspects of our personalities in an environment which is–or at least feels--safe and free from observation by others. The paper begins with an exploration of the idea of the self with particular regard to the ways in which contemporary life and technology seems to have multiplied the various faces or masks which we present in different contexts. A brief history of privacy and surveillance follows. Finally, the paper ends with an affirmation of the importance of private space as an essential component of our spiritual and emotional well-being in today-s wired world.

Keywords: Lacan, panopticon, postmodern, privacy, surveillance.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1079984

References:

[1] C. Barzak. The love we share without knowing. New York, NY: Random House, 2008.
[2] J.W. Goethe. Faust, Part II, Act II. Retrieved March 4, 2013 from: http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/German/FaustIIActIIScenes ItoIV.htm
[3] O. Wilde. "The Truth of Masks," in Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. London: Collins, 1948).
[4] S. Rushdie. The Satanic verses. New York: Random House, 2008.
[5] E.Aboujaoude. Virtually you: the dangerous powers of the e-personality. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
[6] M.R.Leary. and R.M.Kowalski. Impression management: a literature review and two component model. Psychological bulletin, 107, 1, 34-47, 1990.
[7] J. Lacan. The mirror stage as formative of the functioning of the I. In V.B. Leitch et al. Eds. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2001.
[8] G.Ward. Postmodernism. Chicago, IL: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003) Retrieved March 7, 2013 from http://www.allaboutworldview.org/postmodern-psychology-andsocially- constructed-selves-faq.htm#sthash.7dOEaVBI.dpuf
[9] W. T. Anderson Reality Isn-t What It Used To Be: Theatrical Politics, Ready-to-Wear Religion, Global Myths, Primitive Chic, and Other Wonders of the Postmodern World . New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.
[10] K.J. Gergen, The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life . New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000.
[11] M. Stephens, "To Thine Own Selves be True," Los Angeles Times Magazine (August 230 ),1992. Retrieved March 3, 2013 from: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Postmodern%20psych%20page.ht m
[12] R. Schwartz. Our multiple selves: applying systems theory thinking to the inner family. The family therapy networker, March-April Edition, 1997. Retrieved March 6, 2013 from: http://www.hakomiinstitute.com/Forum/Issue10/OurMultipleSelves.pdf
[13] E. Ornstein. Multimind: a new way of looking at human behaviour. Los Altos, Ca: Malor Books, 2003.
[14] K. English. Public eye on private grief. The Toronto Star, March 2. 2013.
[15] J. Gilliom and T. Monahan. Supervision: an introduction to the Surveillance Society. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2013.
[16] K. Armstrong and M. Manson. What is lost and what remains: an exploration of pedagogical benefits of online discussions in two online teacher education learning communities, one in an exclusively webbased environment and one supplemented with face to face contact. Language and Literacy, 12,2,18-29.2010. Available at: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/langandlit/article/viewFile/ 9343/7420
[17] K. Armstrong. High wire act: the perils, pitfalls and possibilities of online discussions. International Conference on Communication and Information Technologies. Paris, France, October 27-29, 2010. Summary available at: http://www.evolitera.co.id/themes/main/product_summarypopup_scienc e.php?science_id=2080
[18] K. Armstrong. Online discussions: developing insight through asynchronous and synchronous conversations. Ubiquitous learning journal, v 3, 2, pp. 1-8. 2011. Available at: http://karenarmstrong1.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.186/prod.124
[19] K. Armstrong. The para-universe of a collaborative group: Strategies to ensure success. Paper published in the conference proceedings. International Conference on Communication and Instructional Technology (ICCIT) Bali, Indonesia, October 24-26, 2011. Available at: https://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v58/v58-159.pdf
[20] K.Armstrong. Managing your online reputation: issues of ethics, trust and privacy in a wired, "no place to hide world". World Academy of Science, engineering and Technology, Issue 64, April 2012, Paris France, pp.848-853. Available at: https://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v64/v64-162.pdf
[21] M. Kirkpatrick. Facebook-s Zuckerberg says the age of privacy is over. Original post January 9, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from: http://readwrite.com/2010/01/09/facebooks_zuckerberg_says_the_age_o f_privacy_is_ov
[22] M. Ingram. A valuable lesson from Randi Ingram: online privacy is complicated. Retrieved March 6, 2013 from: http://gigaom.com/2012/12/26/a-valuable-lesson-from-randi-zuckerbergonline- privacy-is-complicated/
[23] L. Andrews. I know who you are and I saw what you did: social networks and the death of Privacy. New York: Free Press, 2012.
[24] J.J. Luna. How to be invisible: protect your children, your assets, and your life third Edition..New York: St Martin-s Press. 2012.
[25] F. Lee. Someone-s watching you! Fifty steps to protect your privacy from microchips in your underwear to satellites monitoring your every move, Find out who-s tracking you and what you can do about it. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media. 2011.
[26] A.P. Mintz. Web of deceit: misinformation and the manipulation in the age of social media. Medford, New Jersey: Information today, Inc. 2012.
[27] G. Keizer. Privacy. New York: Picador, 2012.
[28] A. Lever. On Privacy. New York: Routledge, 2012.
[29] A.L. Allen. Unpopular privacy: what must we hide? New York: Oxford University Press. 2011.
[30] Brandeis, J. Olmstead v United States, 277 U.S. 438, 478 (Brandeis, J dissenting) 1928.
[31] United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res 217A (III) UN Doc A/Res/810, 1948.
[32] F. H. Cate. Privacy in the Information Age 29. 1997H. Poor, An Introduction to Signal Detection and Estimation. New York: Springer- Verlag, 1985, ch. 4.
[33] R.A. Epstein. "The legal regulation of genetic discrimination: old responses to new technology," 74 Boston University Law review, 1, 12, 1994.
[34] D. J. Solove. Understanding privacy. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2008, p. 5.
[35] Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford, New York, NY: Oxford University Press,1989. Retrieved September 27, 2012 from: http://www.library.yorku.ca/eresolver/?id=247
[36] Wikipedia. Privacy. Retrieved, September 29, 2012 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy
[37] M.C. Nussbaum. Sex and Social Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 41-42.
[38] J. Rosen, Jeffrey. "The web means the end of forgetting" New York Times, July 19, 2010.
[39] A. Grove. "What I-ve learned: Andy Grove", Esquire Magazine, May 1, 2000.
[40] R.Tudge. The no-nonsense guide to global surveillance. Ottawa, ON: New Internationalist, 2011.
[41] Qu-ran 89.14. Retrieved March 10, 2013 from: http://www.mquran.org/content/view/6007/9/
[42] Warren and Brandeis, "The Right to privacy", 4 Harvard Law Review 193 (1890)
[43] J. Locke, Second treatise of government 27 at 19 (1980) (1690).
[44] J. Boyle. Shamans, software, and spleens: law and the construction of the Information society 54, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1996.
[45] A.L. Allen. Why privacy isn-t everything: feminist reflections on personal accountability 2, 2003, 29-30.
[46] S. Lessin, speaking at the NY Tech meetup, August 2010 or Feb 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2012 from: http://www.livestream.com/nytechmeetup/video?clipId=pla_dae43c2e- 9cf4-4cea-8bd7-5f0f9ee32c52
[47] J. Jarvis. Public parts: how sharing in the digital age improves the way we work and live. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2011, p. 116.
[48] US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Record, Computers and the Rights of Citizens 33, 1973.
[49] R. Gavison. Privacy and the limits of law. 89 Yale Law Journal 421, 437,1980.
[50] J.C. Inness. Privacy, intimacy and isolation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
[51] A. Lightman. The world is too much with me: finding private space in the wired world. Toronto: The Hart House lecture. 2002