The Ethics of Whistleblowing

09 July 2015

本周,我们与世界上最著名的揭发者之一爱德华·斯诺登一起探讨《揭发道德》。斯诺登从莫斯科来到斯坦福大学,面对现场观众。Not only was the program recorded for radio broadcast, we also made avideo of the event, with a livelyquestion and answer periodthat follows the radio portion of the interview. It takes you even deeper in to Snowden's thought process. Again, this extended discussion cannot be heard on the radio. You can also check out several excerpts from the eventhere.

不可否认的是,举报人有时可能有可能为我们所有人带来巨大的帮助。举报人愿意站出来,有时会付出巨大的代价,将真相的光芒照射到政府和企业秘密运作的黑暗角落。虽然他们经常受到法律的迫害,但我相信他们经常是民主的真正英雄。

不幸的是,我认为这在道德上并不像说一个想要成为告密者的人就是一个明确的英雄那样简单明了——没有“如果”、“并且”或“但是”。我不想否认政府和企业在暗中做的事情应该被曝光。尽管如此,我还是不能完全接受由单独的个人来决定哪些政府机密应该保密,哪些应该泄露。这是造成混乱的原因。

But I am also uncomfortable with saying that the government has the right to engage in massive, warrantless, secret surveillance of ordinary citizens, without adequate oversight or input from the public. That’s a recipe for a police state, unchecked by anything except its own whims. We’ve gotten ourselves into something close to that with the Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance programs that it supposedly authorized.

It may be that some semblance of sense and moderation is about to break out, even among once ardent fans of the Patriot Act. Even as I write these words, Congress is hotly debating whether to reauthorize the act, in whole or in part, or to let it expire. But the very reason that we are having this debate at all, I might add, is the courage and self-sacrifice of Edward Snowden. So chalk one up for the benefits of whistleblowing. So chalk another one up for those with the courage to blow the whistle.

不过,尽管《爱国者法案》可能存在缺陷,但有一件事可以这样说。这是一项法律——由国会两院投票通过并由总统签署——我上次看过,他们实际上都是由公众通过选举来代表我们所有人制定法律的。作为法律,它值得尊重。

I can hear someone object to the this line of reasoning that our duty to respect the law only goes so far. The law doesn’t deserve respect if it is Ill-conceived and unjust or if it’s so opaque that not even supporters know what it really means or if it makes a mockery of the very idea of oversight or if it is cynically used as a pretext for doing things in secret that the people – who are ultimate masters in a democracy -- would never stand for, if they knew what was really up.

But I am genuinely torn on this point. On the one hand, I think it would be hard to estimate the importance of respect for the rule of law. Without that, you don’t have democracy. You’ve got anarchy. But I also don’t want to confuse respect for the law, with a fetish for the law. Sometimes you have to stand up and be counted. You have to challenge the law.

我想说的是,当你觉得有必要挑战法律时,你应该总是在可能的情况下通过合法的手段来挑战法律。同时,我承认法律有时会让你发誓保密,否则会被起诉。单是这一事实就可能吓得系统里的每个人都噤声。在这种情况下,对法律的尊重可能需要太多。这可能要求你闭嘴,成为机器上的另一个齿轮。

It seems to me extraordinarily difficult to strike the right balance here. Nobody wants to be a criminal and stand outside the law. But it takes no moral courage whatsoever to stand by silently, to go along to get along. This is the dilemma that many whistleblowers face. Most whistleblowers are patriots, not radical revolutionaries. That’s why they’re on the inside and in a position to blow the whistle to begin with. Most would love to work within the law, within the system. But sometimes they feel they simply can’t. And I think it takes great moral courage to out the very government whose secrets you have a sworn duty to uphold. But sometimes a higher duty calls.

然而,举报人承担着巨大的风险,以回应他们所承担的更高职责的召唤。如果他们的行为最终对他们声称热爱的国家造成巨大损害怎么办?一个人怎么能如此自大地确信自己在做正确的事情——尤其是当法律禁止他们这么做,当在战壕里工作的同事和上级拒绝以同样的方式看待事情的时候?但当你决定揭发的时候,这就是你要承担的风险。如果你做错了,你就是叛徒。如果你做对了,你就是英雄。

Bottom line: whistleblowing is not for the faint of heart!

Comments(7)


Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 -- 5:00 PM

I do not KNOW whether Ed

我不知道斯诺登是叛徒还是英雄。我的想法是,他两者都不是,但是,这种评估不是基于爱国者法案或任何其他人为制定的立法工具。我怀疑,作为一个理性、会思考的人,斯诺登一定充分考虑并接受了自己行为的后果。他可能为自己的决定痛苦了很长一段时间,但他很清楚,他曾经知道的生活将被剥夺。显然,他已经准备好做他必须做的事情来让别人明白他的观点。因此,他现在在俄罗斯(?),或者在其他地方潜逃。任何真正的民主国家的法律都是为公共利益而适当地构思和制定的,这一点可能总是有争议的。我们作为民主进程的受益者,通过行使我们投票给作为民主进程实际参与者的立法者的权利来批准这一进程。因此,参与式民主是一个有点误导性的说法。我们这些选民,更现实地说,是赌徒。 We cast our ballots, with the sure and present hope that those we elect are best suited to ensure that our welfare is safeguarded. But it is all a leap of faith, or better, a roll of the dice. Because we are like the man who has TWO watches: he is never truly sure what time it is.

RichardCurtisPhD@msn.com's picture

RichardCurtisPh...

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 -- 5:00 PM

I do know that Ed Snowden is

I do know that Ed Snowden is a hero.
事实上,我对像肯这样的所谓康德主义者的态度感到困惑和深深的不安。我是个功利主义者,但我发过誓。即使作为一个功利主义者,我也很重视这一点。我承诺要捍卫美利坚合众国的宪法不受国内外一切敌人的攻击。军队的每个成员都要宣誓,包括所谓的情报人员。为什么康德学派很难认识到这一点很重要,而且非常重要。
肯,当然艾德必须做他该做的。是的,这是道德责任。他承诺捍卫宪法,他做到了。他周围的每个人都有同样的义务,但只有他做到了。这表明了一世界杯赛程2022赛程表欧洲区个巨大的道德失败,没有人在一个有责任的位置上认真对待他们的宣誓。
Why do Kantians want to defer to a low level law as the relevant principle, when it is obvious to any neutral observer that what matters is the higher principle of one's oath? Ken asked who is Ed to do this. He is a human being who promised to do that sort of thing. What really matters is why do Kantians not understand that a oath to defend the constitution is a powerful thing, a deep obligation that almost no one lives up to.
The armed forces is filled with people who know things that mean what they are doing is illegal. They swore an oath and multiple international agreements (does "Nuremburg" mean anything to you?) have affirmed that the individual has a moral and now legal obligation to stop any illegal activity they see even if it is their own officers who are the criminals.
Why can't Kantians take this oath seriously?

Joel Rice's picture

Joel Rice

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 -- 5:00 PM

Wow!!! Mr. Snowden exhibited

Wow!!! Mr. Snowden exhibited a profound intellect and deep understanding. I was not at all prepared to find myself admiring him. I am embarrased that my country forces him to live in exile.

Guest's picture

Guest

Sunday, July 26, 2015 -- 5:00 PM

We can argue whether Snowden

我们可以争论斯诺登是不是叛徒,但我们必须承认,他有足够的勇气无论如何保护自己的观点。你可以因为他的所作所为而恨他,但他如此有原则,值得尊重。

inggil's picture

inggil

Sunday, August 2, 2015 -- 5:00 PM

I do not KNOW whether Ed

我不知道斯诺登是叛徒还是英雄。我的想法是,他两者都不是,但是,这种评估不是基于爱国者法案或任何其他人为制定的立法工具。

dbk.

Or's picture

Or

Sunday, August 9, 2015 -- 5:00 PM

Doesn?t this look a little

Doesn?t this look a little bit like a Robin Hood-esque story? I can?t look into this matter without thinking that Snowden is either being seen as the good guy who is considered a hero because he is dismantling the bad guy?s plan, or as the bad guy because he?s acting against the law. What is lacking is digging further into the question of ?does this law have any meaning when the other side ? the NSA - is also acting wrongfully?? To me, it?s either ?all of this ?both the NSA and Snowden?s actions - is very bad? or Snowden?s work is legitimate. But to argue that his activity was unlawful and not mention the context of the unlawfulness, the fact that clearly the other side?s actions were unconstitutional, does seem a bit odd.
Snowden is not like a ?normal? criminal in the sense that what he did was so that the population could know of practices that they might deem wrongful. So can the law, the way it is, apply to him? In fact, can law as an argument even be used here when there is clearly no regard for law (or privacy) on the other side of the issue? Shouldn?t the philosophical question regarding whistleblowing be freed from arguments against the law or pro-law, say, ?he is wrong in what he did because he acted against the law?? Because the other side isn?t exactly following the law either. What exactly are we basing our argument pro- and against whistleblowing on? Shouldn?t these arguments be independent from considerations of law?
出于对检举行为本身的哲学考虑,我可以考虑这样的担忧:斯诺登告诉了我一些我可能不想被告知的事情,从而剥夺了我的自主权。当然,另一方也通过保持其实践的秘密来消除自主性,等等。然后,有人会说:他替我做了决定;这是对其他公民的家长式做法,因此是错误的,等等。或者,他所做的决定就像一个护士瞒着一个身患绝症的病人,他说他得了病,因为护士认为不让病人知道是最好的。这两种情况的相似之处在于,都是由外部人士为一个人决定他或她应该知道什么。这样对话就可以展开了。但是斯诺登?不能简单地用合法性或不合法性来从哲学上考虑美国的行动。
It?s also not about saying ?Snowden is a traitor/hero because he revealed x.? What does being a traitor/hero have to do with this matter? It seems like a quick judgment or at least a completely different question to me - what makes a hero, what makes a traitor -, one independent from whether he acted wrongfully or not.

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Monday, April 2, 2018 -- 9:54 AM

May we agree that several

May we agree that several things have happened since July of 2015? Those events and circumstances could have gone differently-that's the reality of space, time and synchronicity. But, are we any better off, or are things worse? A large portion of the American public appears to be almost as pessimistic as I have been for the last year or so. Polls show younger folks are the most disillusioned and disappointed. Many who are experts in matters of history and demography say: it is mostly cyclical; all things pass and return on a recurring basis-you may count on that. I do not recall what finally happened with the Patriot Act, or if anything happened at all. I must say that I do not believe there is much ado right now about 'forming a more perfect union'. I remarked (in 2015)that a man who has one watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure. This is true, even if the man with the one watch has a faulty one. I have a watch that, when purchased, was a source of some pride-of-ownership-not a Rolex, mind you, or a Patek-but, a nice Citizen eco-drive. It has lain dormant in my dresser drawer for ten or fifteen years. I no longer have a need for it, nor the pride-of-ownership it once symbolized. I write philosophy and offer commentary on many ideas and notions that interest me. And, I try to understand those which, as a practical matter, do not.

有时,这一切似乎毫无希望,然而,它继续吸引我的兴趣。我想这就是我继续自我教育的原因。过上我能想到的最好的生活…继续做你和体能训练的事,教授。这是城里唯一的游戏。